House Speaker Mike Johnson announces Adelita Grijalva will be sworn in next week

PHOENIX — The delay that has kept newly elected U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva from taking office could soon come to an end.

After sharp critiques from Grijalva as well as other Democrats, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, a Republican, said he will swear her in next week.

“Well, the House is not on the floor doing business this week, but we will do it immediately early next week as soon as everyone returns to town,” Johnson told CBS Mornings on Thursday. “We have to have everybody here and we’ll swear her in.”

The exact date of the ceremony has not been announced.

Why hasn’t Adelita Grijalva been sworn into Congress?

No official reason has been given for the delay in Grijalva’s swearing in, although the southern Arizona Democrat and some of her colleagues have said it is due to Grijalva’s commitment to signing a petition that would force a vote on files related to the Jeffrey Epstein sex abuse case.

Johnson did not comment on a cause for the delay when asked by CBS News’ Tony Dokoupil. However, in April, the speaker previously swore in two Republican representatives within 24 hours of their elections.

“The fact that southern Arizona is being treated differently raises serious questions about political motivations  – especially since I have pledged to become the 218th signature on the discharge petition to force a vote on the Epstein files,” Grijalva said in a press release on Tuesday.

She was elected to represent Arizona’s 7th Congressional district by a landslide on Sept. 23. She will succeed her father, Raúl Grijalva, who died from cancer earlier this year. He had served in Congress for more than 20 years and represented CD7 twice, from 2003 to 2013 and 2023 to 2025.

“I congratulate her on her win, replacing her father, who had a long history here,” Johnson said. “And she’ll be a productive member of Congress. We look forward to that.”

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