Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and House GOP leaders have turned down a request from Democrats to allow Rep. Adelita Griarba (D-Ariz.) to be sworn in on Tuesday. They stated she will be sworn in when the House resumes regular sessions.
This decision eliminates the last signature petition needed to push forward a bill related to the release of documents regarding Jeffrey Epstein.
Recently, the late MP Raúl Grijalva’s (D-Ariz.) daughter, who won a special election, committed to signing a discharge petition as soon as she takes the oath, with bipartisan lawmakers advocating for the release of the Epstein files.
This week, Grijalva returned to Washington with several House Democrats to urge GOP leaders to negotiate on a bipartisan government funding bill during their recess. Although no vote was scheduled, the House floor was briefly open for a pro-forma session on Tuesday, allowing one chamber to delay activity without the other chamber’s consent.
Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) presided over Tuesday’s pro-forma session and chose not to acknowledge Democrats who attempted to push for votes on proposals aimed at keeping the government operational. He did not swear in Griarba.
“Historically, you do that when a non-proforma home is being done during a session,” Griffith explained afterward when questioned about his decision regarding Griarba.
Grijalva pointed out that a Florida Republican was sworn in during a pro-forma session shortly after a special election, citing that there was a session the day before.
“There’s no reason I couldn’t be sworn in. This is troubling, especially with the impending government shutdown. Members have questions that are going unanswered,” Grijalva noted.
She mentioned she hasn’t communicated directly with the Speaker’s office regarding when her swearing-in will take place.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Griarba commented on the timing.
Nevertheless, a spokesperson from the Speaker’s office indicated that Grijalva would be sworn in when the House reconvenes for regular sessions.
“As the House is currently processing documents from the state, it is standard protocol for the Speaker’s office to schedule the swearing-in when the House returns to session,” the spokesperson stated.
The House had initially planned to hold sessions on Monday and Tuesday, but Republican leaders canceled these to apply pressure on Senate Democrats over the GOP’s stopgap funding measures.
A government shutdown won’t prevent Grijalva from being sworn in; the full House was sworn in during a shutdown when a new session began in January 2019.
Highlighting Grijalva’s impending arrival, the Democratic Women’s Caucus addressed Johnson on Tuesday morning.
“It’s common for representatives to be sworn in immediately after a decisive election, with some even sworn in within 24 hours of their victory,” pointed out Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-N.M.).
Johnson’s rejection of the Democrats’ request is considered irrelevant to current shutdown discussions, as it doesn’t alter the voting dynamics in the House. Presently, there are 219 Republicans and 213 Democrats, which means even adding seats for Democrats wouldn’t change the slim Republican majority. Each party’s votes are critical, and Republicans could face a tight margin assuming all are present and vote.
However, Grijalva’s swearing-in would be a crucial step in collecting signatures for discharge petitions aimed at voting on the Epstein file, led by Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.). This petition needs one additional signature to meet the 218 required for bypassing GOP leadership.
Aside from Massie, only three Republicans—Marjorie Taylor Greene (Georgia), Nancy Mace (S.C.), and Lauren Boebert (Colorado)—have signed the petition. GOP leaders argue the bill fails to adequately protect victims and emphasize that the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is already investigating Epstein-related issues.
James Walkinshaw (D-Va.), who recently took over the seat held by Rep. Jerry Connolly (D-Va.), was sworn in on the day the House was voting, rather than during a pro-forma session.
