Arizona AG Kris Mayes follows through with lawsuit over delay in seating Adelita Grijalva to Congress

PHOENIX — Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes made good on her promise to file a lawsuit against House Speaker Mike Johnson related to the delay in seating Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva (D) to the House of Representatives, as Mayes and Grijalva filed the lawsuit on Tuesday.

Grijalva was elected to represent Arizona’s 7th Congressional District on Sept. 23, beating Republican challenger Daniel Butierez by nearly a two-to-one margin to replace her father Raúl Grijalva, who died on March 13.

Mayes sent a letter last Tuesday to Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson‘s office saying she would file a lawsuit if Grijalva’s oath of office ceremony was not scheduled by Oct. 16.

Mayes follows through on her ultimatum to Speaker Johnson on seating Rep.-elect Grijalva

“Speaker Mike Johnson is actively stripping the people of Arizona of one of their seats in Congress and disenfranchising the voters of Arizona’s 7th Congressional District in the process,” Mayes said in a press release Tuesday.

“By blocking Adelita Grijalva from taking her rightful oath of office, he is subjecting Arizona’s 7th Congressional District to taxation without representation. I will not allow Arizonans to be silenced or treated as second-class citizens in their own democracy.”   

While walking through the halls of the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C., Johnson responded to the filing of the lawsuit.

“I think it’s patently absurd. We run the House. She has no jurisdiction. We’re following the precedent,” he said. “She’s looking for national publicity; apparently, she’s gotten some of it, but good luck with that.”

Johnson’s reasoning for not installing Grijalva to her elected seat in Congress centers around the ongoing government shutdown. He said a vote to end the shutdown is required before Grijalva can be sworn in.

Now, the legality of that reasoning will be tested by the judicial branch.

“The voters of southern Arizona made their choice, yet for four weeks, he has refused to seat a duly elected Member of Congress – denying southern Arizona its constitutional representation,” Grijalva said. “I’m proud to join Attorney General Mayes in standing up for the more than 800,000 Arizonans who have been stripped of their voice in Congress.” 

Does the delay by Speaker Johnson have ulterior motives?

Mayes isn’t the only Democrat taking action on Grijalva’s behalf. Several Democratic members of Arizona’s Congressional delegation gathered outside of the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. on Wednesday morning to demand Johnson take action.

U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego has been especially outspoken, accusing Johnson of using stall tactics on Grijalva to prevent her from signing a discharge petition regarding the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case by the Justice Department.

“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 Sept. 30.

Johnson, however, has denied that petition has anything to do with the delay.

“We’re for all of it coming out as soon as possible,” he said. “The only thing we want to make sure of is that the innocent victims are protected and I think we have responsibility to do that.”

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