Democrats Torch Mike Johnson for Blocking Grijalva Over the Epstein Files

"On September 23, Arizona voters voted overwhelmingly to elect Adelita Grijalva to succeed her late father, Raúl Grijalva, in the House. But after more than three weeks, House Speaker Mike Johnson has continued to block Grijalva from being sworn in as an official member of the chamber, a move her Democratic colleagues see as an attempt to block a vote on the release of the Epstein files."

"On Tuesday, Grijalva returned to Washington, D.C., after her election victory was officially certified by Arizona officials. Politico reports that the representative-elect joined dozens of House Democrats in marching to Johnson's office to demand that she be sworn into office. She then joined other Democrats, including her fellow members of the Arizona congressional delegation, outside the Capitol, where they continued to push for Grijalva's swearing-in."

"While Johnson has said that the government shutdown prevents him from administering the oath to Grijalva, she and many in her party believe there's another motive at play. During her campaign, Grijalva vowed to sign onto the House discharge petition organized by Republican representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky that would force a vote on the release of the government's files related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. The petition requires 218 signatures to move forward, and Grijalva's promise would get the measure over the line."

Adelita Grijalva won Arizona's special election on September 23 to replace her late father, Raúl Grijalva, but has not been sworn into the House more than three weeks later. House Speaker Mike Johnson has refused to administer the oath, citing the government shutdown, while Democrats accuse him of blocking her to prevent a vote on releasing Jeffrey Epstein investigation files. Grijalva returned to Washington after certification and joined dozens of House Democrats in protests demanding swearing-in. Grijalva pledged to sign a House discharge petition organized by Rep. Thomas Massie that would require 218 signatures to force the files' release.

Read at Intelligencer