It took 50 days, but Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., was finally sworn in Wednesday afternoon by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., media outlets reported.
Her seating trims the Republicans' already narrow House majority to 219-214 and ends a contentious chapter in the House that included rising tensions regarding the release of files related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Grijalva won a special election in September to succeed her father, Raúl Grijalva, who died of cancer in March after representing Arizona in Congress since 2003. But her swearing-in was delayed for more than seven weeks as the House was in recess because of the government shutdown.
Democrats argued that Johnson delayed her swearing-in because she would be the deciding signature that would trigger a floor vote on releasing documents related to Epstein, who died in federal custody on Aug. 10, 2019, while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking of minors.
Democrats cited other instances when Johnson moved quickly to swear in Republicans who won their special elections.
"The only thing that's different about me and the three other people that this speaker swore in in under 24 hours from the date of their elections is I'm the 218th signer," Grijalva told CNN last month.
Johnson defended his decision to delay Grijalva's swearing-in by arguing that she won her race on Sept. 23 when the House was already out of session and had vowed to swear her in as soon as the House returned.
"Just as I promised, as soon as we get back to legislative session, so before we have this vote that we are talking about, she will be administered the oath," Johnson told CNN on Monday, referring to a vote on Senate-passed legislation to end the government shutdown.
The timing of Grijalva's swearing-in also has been closely watched because she is poised to become the decisive 218th member in support of a discharge petition to force the House to vote on the release of all of the case files related to Epstein.
The timing of Grijalva’s swearing-in has drawn close attention because she is expected to provide the decisive 218th signature needed to advance a discharge petition that would force a House vote on releasing all of the case files related to Epstein.
The issue has roiled the House and sparked division among Republicans.
When Grijalva signs the petition, it will start the timer on a vote to force release of the files relating to the Department of Justice's investigation of Epstein. President Donald Trump and House GOP leaders oppose such a move.
Proponents will have to wait seven legislative days for the petition to "ripen," at which point House Republican leaders will be forced to bring a vote within two legislative days, Axios reported.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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