Arizona's Grijalva, Elected Seven Weeks Ago, Expects to Be Sworn In as Shutdown Nears Its End

Arizona Democrat Adelita Grijalva, who won a special election on September 23 to succeed her late father in Congress, said she is about 90% confident she will be sworn in this week, after waiting seven weeks to take her seat. She spoke in an interview with NPR's Scott Detrow.

House Speaker Mike Johnson has said that swearing in Grijalva will be among the first items of business once the House returns to session, with an end to the government shutdown now in sight. Grijalva represents Arizona's 7th District, which borders Mexico and includes three ports of entry.

Grijalva said she has traveled to Washington four times during the wait, staying a couple of days each trip, in the hope of being sworn in during a pro forma session. That did not happen each time, and she returned to her district. She noted that she has waited 49 days, and that the next day would mark 50. Several times in that period, she said, she believed the swearing-in was imminent, so she feels closer to certainty now than before. She added that the speaker's office has never communicated with her directly.

Grijalva linked the delay to her campaign pledge to be the 218th signature on a bipartisan discharge petition that would force a House vote on releasing the Epstein files. Her signature would be decisive in compelling that vote. Johnson has dismissed the suggestion that the delay is connected to the petition, calling it a partisan manufactured claim. Grijalva disagreed, saying she believes there is absolutely a connection and that it has left more than 800,000 Arizonans without representation for seven weeks.

She said she still intends to sign the petition as quickly as possible. Asked what releasing the files would achieve, she said it would bring justice for survivors and consequences for those who committed crimes against children and women.

Beyond that, Grijalva said her constituents want her to fight for democracy, immigration rights, tribal sovereignty, environmental justice, public education and the economy. She described her district as diverse, with both rural areas and urban centers, and said its varied needs resemble those of the nation.

One of her first votes could be on the measure to end the federal shutdown, and Grijalva said she will vote no on the continuing resolution. She blamed Republicans and House leadership for the prolonged closure, noting she was elected five days before it began and arguing that negotiations should have been pursued consistently. She said the bill contains hidden benefits for senators that enrich themselves, does nothing for health care affordability and continues to cut people out of coverage.

Grijalva also dismissed the concessions won by the handful of Senate Democrats who voted yes, calling them negligible compared with the scale of the problem. She cited an Arizona mother whose monthly bill to insure herself and her three children rose from $500 to $2,400, a cost she said the family cannot afford.

Asked about her conversations with other members of Congress during her visits, Grijalva said colleagues have been supportive and frustrated, and have been advocating for her to be sworn in because there is a lot of work to do.