'Let me do my job': Arizona Democrat says Speaker Johnson hasn't contacted her about being sworn in

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Scripps News

Posted 5:49 PM, Oct 08, 2025 and last updated 5:58 PM, Oct 08, 2025


U.S. Democratic Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva believes House Speaker Mike Johnson refuses to swear her in because she has pledged to sign a discharge petition to release the so-called Epstein files.

Grijalva won a special election in Arizona's 7th congressional district two weeks ago, replacing her late father Raul Grijalva. However, despite being in Washington, D.C. last week before the government shutdown, Grijalva told Scripps News on Wednesday she hasn't heard anything from Speaker Johnson regarding her swearing in.

"Not at all, not one thing," she said. "We have reached out directly. We sent a letter. We're like, just give us a date, because this idea that the government is shutdown so we can't do it is completely false."

Grijalva noted that during government shutdowns, the U.S. House can have pro forma sessions, which are brief meetings held between lawmakers to fulfill constitutional or procedural requirements while not conducting legislative business.

Read more: https://www.scrippsnews.com/politics/let-me-do-my-job-arizona-democrat-says-speaker-johnson-hasnt-contacted-her-about-being-sworn-in

[PSPS]

1. They will do anything to block that epstein discharge petition

[MayReasonRule]

2. Any Notary Or Judge May Swear Her In!!! Please Explain To Me WHY This Has Not Already Occurred.

[onenote]

6. Absolutely not true.

Per 2 USC 25, it is the Speaker of the House that is empowered to swear in members of Congress. That law was passed in 1789 and has over 230 years of precedent supporting it. The only way that someone other than the Speaker can swear in a member is if the House passes a resolution giving the Speaker authority to deputize someone else to administer the oath. And you can take it to the bank that this Republican majority Congress isn't going to adopt any such resolution.

It is all spelled out in specific detail in the official "Precedents of the US House of Representatives"

See https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=20709495

And let me be clear: I am not in any way defending Johnson's failure to swear in Grijalva. His inaction is unjustified and inexcusable. But the often repeated claim that any old judge can step and administer a legally binding oath is simply false. Even a swearing in that is pre-authorized by a House Resolution has to be accepted after the fact by the adoption of a subsequent resolution by the House.

[Diraven]

8. So Johnson can just refuse to swear in Democrats forever?

I guess Grijalva will just have to wait until they do the group swearing in on Jan 3, 2027. It would be pretty hard for Johnson to postpone that one.

[Gimpyknee]

9. Thank you for your factful response.

[mdbl]

3. He thinks he's the Moscow Mitch of the House.

[republianmushroom]

4. Because Porno mikey has been told by his boss,

the orange felon, not to.

[Miguelito Loveless]

5. She needs to hold daily press conferences

outside Johnson's office about the Epstein files, and how the GOP is bending over backwards to protect child rapists.

[Abstractartist]

7. Contact the clerk

The Clerk of the House can also administer the oath if the Speaker is absent or unable to do so.

The House must accept a certified Member-elect, and the Speaker cannot unilaterally block their swearing-in.

If the Speaker of the House refuses to swear in a newly elected member, the House can pass a resolution to authorize someone else to perform the oath ceremony. This means that the authority to administer the oath does not rest solely with the Speaker, and the House can ensure that the member is sworn in by another designated individual.