Arizona's Adelita Grijalva sworn in after seven weeks in move that could force Epstein vote

"Arizona Democrat Adelita Grijalva was sworn in by Mike Johnson, the US House speaker, on Wednesday, ending a seven-week standoff that prevented the incoming congresswoman from taking her seat and clearing the path for a vote to release the Jeffrey Epstein files. House Democrats burst into applause on the House floor when Grijalva took the oath of office during a ceremonial swearing in, shortly before the chamber was poised to take up legislation that would end the longest federal government shutdown in US history."

"The ceremony comes 49 days after Grijalva won a late September special election to succeed her father, the longtime congressman Raul Grijalva, who died in March. Grijalva's arrival does more than narrow the already razor-thin Republican majority. She has vowed to become the 218th and final signature on a discharge petition that would automatically trigger a House floor vote on legislation demanding the justice department release additional files on deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein."

"Already on Wednesday morning, House oversight Democrats released never-before-seen Epstein emails that mention Trump, including a 2011 message to Ghislaine Maxwell in which Epstein wrote that Trump spent hours at my house with a sex trafficking victim, calling Trump a dog that hasn't barked. A 2019 email to author Michael Wolff states that of course [Trump] knew about the girls as he asked ghislaine to stop."

Adelita Grijalva was sworn in by House Speaker Mike Johnson after a seven-week standoff, allowing her to take a congressional seat. House Democrats applauded as she took the ceremonial oath shortly before the chamber prepared legislation to end the longest recent federal government shutdown. The swearing-in followed a late September special election to fill Raul Grijalva's seat. Her arrival narrows the Republican majority and she pledged to be the crucial 218th signature on a discharge petition to compel the justice department to release more files on Jeffrey Epstein. Oversight Democrats released previously unseen Epstein emails mentioning Trump, while many files remain sealed. The petition, filed by Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna, needs one more signature and has mainly Democratic support alongside a few Republicans.

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