Arizona Democratic senators press Mike Johnson to swear in Adelita Grijalva | House of Representatives
Arizona’s Democratic senators pressed Mike Johnson on Wednesday to appoint their state’s newest representative, Adelita Grijalva, but the Republican House speaker refused to act until the government is funded.
Grijalva, a Democrat, won a special election last month to replace his late father, Raúl M Grijalva, in southern Arizona’s House district. However, he was unable to assume his new position due to Johnson’s failure to fulfill his oath of office.
On Wednesday afternoon, Arizona’s two Democratic senators, Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, gathered outside the speaker’s office at the Capitol to take questions from the press. Johnson arrived soon after, and Democrats pressed him on when Grijalva would be sworn in.
“We’ll do that as soon as we get back to work, but we need the lights back on, so we’re encouraging you both to turn the government on,” the speaker replied, according to video of the conversation.
Grijalva told the Guardian he believed Johnson was delaying his official start in the House of Representatives because only one more signature was needed on the petition for a vote on legislation requiring the release of files on alleged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
When Gallego asked if that was really the case, Johnson called the idea “completely ridiculous.”
“You are experts at deception and distraction,” he told senators, later calling the encounter a “publicity stunt.”
The speaker also denied that Grijalva was treated differently than two Florida Republicans who won special elections earlier this year and were quickly swept into office.
“There was a day scheduled for the oath of office, and the House was out of session that day. All their family and friends were here, so we went ahead and ran the process,” Johnson said.
The debate comes as Democrats and Republicans are at odds over restarting government funding, which expired last Wednesday. Hundreds of thousands of federal employees have been furloughed, while national parks and government offices across the country have closed or reduced services.
Republicans are demanding that Democrats support a bill that would fund the government through Nov. 21, but the minority party has rejected that and instead demanded a series of concessions centered on health care.
The measure has already passed the House, and Johnson kept the chamber out of session to pressure Senate Democrats to provide the eight votes they are expected to need to clear the upper chamber.
The encounter between Johnson and Democratic senators wasn’t the only clash at the Capitol on Wednesday.
As he was leaving a news conference, House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries faced opposition from Republican representative Mike Lawler, who demanded that he sign legislation that would extend premium tax credits for Affordable Care Act plans for one year; this was a key requirement of the Democrats.
“We have a one-year extension. Why don’t we sign now?” Lawler, who briefly argued with Democratic senators in front of Johnson’s office, asked this question.
According to the video, Lawler and Jeffries got into a minutes-long argument that ended with the minority leader telling the representative, a fellow New Yorker seen in danger of losing reelection: “You’re embarrassing yourself and your district right now, and you’re going to be defeated next year.”
