Washington (AP) – A week after her A decisive victory Arizona special elections, Adelita Grijalva She arrived at the US Capitol where her father had worked for decades.
But as she walks around the familiar hall, she says she can’t help but feel like a tourist. She was removed from the session and her vows were delayed. It left her without any office, desks, staff, anything like an informal new member of the Council.
“It’s very frustrating,” she told The Associated Press from a late-night House Democrat meeting. She said it was unfair to residents serving in Arizona’s 7th district.
The delay occurs as Republicans pursue President Donald Trump’s agenda in Congress, where they hold a slim majority in both the House and Senate. Government closure.
Grijalva’s presence, when she is sworn in, narrows down margins and gives minority Democrats more empowering them in confronting the Trump and GOP agenda.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said it is “standard practice” for the House to swear to new members during sessions, with Grillarva expected to be sworn when the Chamber of Commerce reopens its business next week. But two Republican lawmakers who were specially elected earlier this year were sworn in the day after they won their seats and when their homes were not in session.
“I don’t know why the rules are different for me,” Grijalva said.
Democrats accused Johnson of delaying Grijalva’s oath. Ministry of Justice Recent Sex Trafficking Survey Files Jeffrey Epstein. Grijalva promises to support the effort, becoming the last signatory necessary to force that vote, joining Democrats and some Republicans.
“Republicans are blocking her from her standpoint because they want to protect pedophiles. That’s disgrace,” Sen. Reuben Gallego, a Democrat from the same state, said in a post on X.
Earlier this week, Massachusetts Democrat Whip Katherine Clark wrote to Johnson, criticizing the cancellation of the votes scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, saying that his decision to avoid government shutdowns and delay Grillarva’s oath was at stake.
Clark accused that the “general practice” of special elections with no doubts of outcomes is that sworn “on the earliest opportunity.”
“The delay in oath at the representative Electo Grillarva unnecessarily takes over her component representation and questions whether the motivation behind the delay is to further avoid the release of the Epstein Files,” Clark wrote in the letter.
The speaker’s office sent a statement to the Associated Press that Johnson intends to schedule the oath next week.
“As the standard practice, the House is currently receiving appropriate documents from the state, the Speaker’s office intends to schedule oaths for representative electrics when the house returns to the session,” the spokesman said.
Both chambers of Congress were part of this week and part of this week in compliance with Jewish Holy Days last week.
Grijalba was elected to replace his father, late US Rep. Raul Grijalba, a progressive Democrat who represented the nation for more than 20 years before his death in March.
Newcomer I won a seat in southern Arizona Last week, she more than doubled the votes of Republican opponents, making her the first Latina to represent Arizona in Congress.
The council office was closed the day after the election, she said, and there are no services available to district members at this time.
Grijalva was at the Capitol this week, but the room was temporarily opened as some Democrats gathered and pushed their demands to save health funds as part of a deal to keep government funds up.
“There is no justification to further delay the representative’s elect from being sworn in as a member of the House,” minority leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters Wednesday.
Rep. Thomas Massey, a Kentucky Republican who promoted the release of the Epstein Files, said he was looking forward to Grillarva’s arrival.
“We encourage Johnson to ensure that Senator Grijalva is swearing to her earliest eligibility in accordance with applicable laws and House precedents,” Massey said in a statement provided to the Associated Press. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Matt Brown contributed to this report from Washington.
