Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., joined by Democrats and members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, outside the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 15, 2025. (Photo by Ariana Figueroa/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — Outside the U.S. Capitol Wednesday, Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, who won her election last month and will become Arizona’s first elected Latina, said the House speaker’s delay in swearing her in was “intentional.”

“This delay is not procedural,” she said, joined by members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has repeatedly argued that he’s holding off on swearing in the Arizona Democrat elected last month to fill the seat of her late father, Raúl Grijalva, who died earlier this year, until Senate Democrats vote to reopen the government. The shutdown now has continued for 15 days.  

“She won her election after the House was out of session,” said Johnson, who has kept the House out while the shutdown extends. “That hasn’t been scheduled because we haven’t had that session yet. As soon as (Sen.) Chuck Schumer opens the government…we’ll have that as soon as we get back to business.” 

Epstein petition

Johnson has previously sworn in three members when the House was not in session — two Republicans and one Democrat. 

But Democrats charge that Johnson is holding off on swearing in Grijalva because she would give Democrats and a handful of Republicans the final vote to compel the Department of Justice to release documents regarding the late sex offender and wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein, who frequently socialized with the president. Republicans control the House by a slim 219-213 majority.

“Speaker Johnson knows that I will be the 218th signature on the discharge petition,” Grijalva said, referring to a bipartisan petition to force a vote on the measure. “He is doing everything in his power to shield this administration from accountability.” 

Democrats earlier this month tried to get recognition during the House pro forma session to swear in Grijalva, but Republicans presiding over the chamber ignored those efforts. 

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has also threatened Johnson with legal action if Grijalva is not sworn in.

The chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Rep. Adriano Espaillat of New York, said Democrats are “looking at all possible options.”

“But we are demanding from Speaker Johnson to seat her immediately so that the folks that she represents, the people that she represents, continue to get the services that they deserve to get,” he said.

Senators from Arizona speak out

Arizona’s Democratic Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego said they have pressed for Johnson to swear in Grijalva and have demanded answers. 

Kelly, who lives in Grijalva’s district, said those constituents don’t have representation in Congress.

“And that is wrong,” he said.

Gallego was blunt about the reason for Grijalva’s delay.

“Speaker Johnson is protecting pedophiles,” he said. “He has one more day to protect all those pedophiles, whether it’s involving Donald Trump or any of his rich, elite friends.”

Last month, through a subpoena, House Democrats revealed a lewd image and inscription they alleged was a birthday note that President Donald Trump provided for Epstein’s 50th-birthday book compiled by the financier’s co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell.

The subpoena stems from records in the government’s 2019 federal sex trafficking case against Epstein, which was brought to light after a year-long investigation by the Miami Herald that tracked down more than 60 women, most of whom were underage at the time, who detailed their sexual abuse.

Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August (R-Walworth) attacks the Assembly Democrats in a floor speech on Tuesday, Oct. 14. (Screenshot/WisEye)

During an Assembly floor session in which most of the bills passed on voice votes that were unanimous or nearly so, the chamber’s Democrats took the occasion Tuesday to make pointed arguments with amendments that were quickly quashed.

Republican lawmakers lashed back with accusations of politics and grandstanding, while Democrats retorted that they were raising issues relevant to their constituents that the GOP majority has ignored.

On a bill that includes a pilot program for enabling video communications between callers and public safety call centers, Rep. Christian Phelps (D-Eau Claire) offered an amendment to restrict the video recordings from being shared.

“My amendment tightens the guardrails on the pilot program to clarify that no real-time video could be shared with private contractors or masked federal agents with ICE or any other actors not relevant to the incident being reported,” Phelps told lawmakers.

In recent door-to-door visits with constituents, “most of them have been saying they want to protect and expand Medicaid, public schools, they’re worried about the economy,” he added. “Zero percent said that they want more government surveillance.”

The amendment was rejected 54-42.

“What is the bar?”: Wisconsin Legislature divided as it passes resolution honoring Charlie Kirk 

The official theme of the day — set as always by the Republican caucus — revolved around public safety, and was cued up with the first hour set aside to honor first responders from each of the state’s 99 Assembly districts.

On the floor, the Assembly passed bills to ban gadgets that can automatically hide or swap out a driver’s license plate (SB 66); increase the penalties for impersonating police, fire fighters and other emergency service personnel (AB 136); punish people who harass search and rescue dogs (AB 239); increase the penalty for human trafficking (AB 265); and require drivers to move over for disabled vehicles on the highway just as they must already give a wide berth to a stopped emergency vehicle (AB 409).

The body also concurred — on a voice vote and without debate — with a Senate bill that split lawmakers on party lines in the 2023-24 legislative session and was vetoed by Gov. Tony Evers.

The legislation, SB 25, would shield police officers involved in the fatal shootings of civilians from judicial investigations under Wisconsin’s John Doe law if prosecutors decline to issue charges unless new evidence is produced. The bill passed a divided Senate in March.

Amendments as talking points

On Tuesday, disagreement only broke open when Democrats used the amendment process to highlight some of their policy priorities that weren’t otherwise up for discussion.

Each time, Rep. Kevin Petersen (R-Waupaca), filling in in the speaker’s chair, ruled the amendments out of order, and the Assembly Republicans agreed in party-line votes.

The first of the Democratic amendments was on SB-183, which came to the Assembly after passing the Senate earlier Tuesday.

The legislation increases the Medicaid reimbursement for emergency medical services when drivers arrive to pick up a patient but the person ends up forgoing a trip to the hospital.

Rep. Alex Joers (D-Waunakee) offered an amendment to increase the state budget by $69.2 million to offset increases in the state’s cost to run the federally funded FoodShare program.

Rule changes that Republicans enacted in the tax-cut and spending-cut megabill that President Donald Trump signed July 4 set an “impossible standard” for Wisconsin to meet, he said. “We want to prevent another multi-million dollar heist by Trump and his followers.”

When the vote came on the bill itself — which passed by a unanimous voice vote — the bill’s Assembly author, Rep. Tony Kurtz (R-Wonewoc) angrily scolded the Democrats.

“I’m a little bit taken back by the amendment that was thrown on to this bill,” Kurtz said. “I understand you want to get your political points, that’s fine. But there’s other bills you can do that with. This was a disrespect to those first responders that were here today.”

The next bill to get that treatment was SB 309, giving dispatchers and 911 call center operators immunity from any civil liability if they transfer a caller to the national 988 suicide and crisis line. That bill also passed with a unanimous voice vote.

First, however, state Rep. Joan Fitzgerald (D-Fort Atkinson) proposed an amendment to restore $25 million a year for the current two-year budget that would go to municipalities to improve or expand their EMS operations. The money was included in Gov. Tony Evers’ budget proposal but removed by the Joint Finance Committee’s Republican leaders.

“Today, you have the opportunity to change that and do the right thing and make sure municipalities get the money they need to fund these essential services,” Fitzgerald said. The Assembly voted 54-42 against the amendment. 

Raising Epstein

A few bills later came SB 76, requiring prosecutors to get a judge’s approval before dismissing or amending charges for a broad group of crimes. That bill passed on a 53-43 party-line vote, with only Republican support.

There was no discussion of that bill’s content, however. Instead, Democrats offered an amendment requiring the governor to issue a formal notice calling for the release of the federal files on deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Even before Epstein’s name was uttered in the chamber, Majority Leader Rep. Tyler August (R-Walworth) launched a broad verbal attack on the Democrats.

As with the other amendments, August raised a “point of order,” objecting to the amendment’s relevance to the legislation. He accused Democrats of “political gamesmanship” and pursuing “gotcha votes” to embarrass Republicans, and charged that “they just flat-out lie” in political campaigns.

“And so this is just another embarrassing moment for Assembly Democrats,” August said. “And then they wonder why they’re never going to be in charge of this place.”

Rep. Clint Anderson (D-Beloit) retorted just as sharply.

“You know what’s embarrassing is getting mad about us talking about holding a pedophile accountable,” Anderson said. “I think it is time that we send a message that we think no matter how powerful, how wealthy, and how politically connected you are, you will be held accountable if you traffic children.”

Rep. Lee Snodgrass (D-Appleton) argued that the amendment was relevant because the original bill was about restricting deferred prosecution.

“We all just voted unanimously to increase penalties for human trafficking and extend the statute of limitations,” Snodgrass said. “You simply cannot vote for that and then vote down this amendment.”

When Rep. Randy Udell (D-Fitchburg) began recounting some of the names of Epstein’s reported victims, Petersen interrupted.

“How do any of these names relate to Wisconsin?” Petersen said.

Udell: “They are all victims of Epstein and these files should be released.”

Petersen: “Did they happen in Wisconsin?”

Udell (who represents the 47th Assembly District): “We don’t know. The files haven’t been released.”

Petersen: “Representative from the 47th, on the point of order — not on national politics.”

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Adelita Grijalva speaks to the media during a primary election-night party at El Casino Ballroom in South Tucson, Arizona, on July 15, 2025. Grijalva, the Pima County supervisor, won a special election for the state's 7th District seat vacated by the death of her father, longtime U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva. (Photo by Rebecca Noble/Getty Images) 

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Democrats failed again Wednesday to force Speaker Mike Johnson to swear in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva. 

Johnson has said he’s holding off on swearing in Grijalva — an Arizona Democrat elected in September to fill the seat of her father, Raúl Grijalva, who died in March — until he brings the House back into session, which he says will happen as soon as Senate Democrats vote to reopen the government.  

But Democrats have accused Johnson of delaying Grijalva’s swearing-in to stall a vote on the Department of Justice’s release of files regarding the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Louisiana Republican has denied that accusation.

Grijalva has vowed to be the 218th and final signature needed on a bipartisan petition to force a vote on the measure.

Rep. Greg Stanton of Arizona led his Democratic colleagues in trying to gain recognition on the House floor to get Grijalva sworn in Wednesday. 

But GOP Rep. Russ Fulcher of Idaho, presiding over the House during its pro forma session, quickly gaveled out and did not recognize the Democrats. 

Several Democratic House leaders joined Stanton on the floor, including Minority Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, the chair and vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus, Pete Aguilar and Ted Lieu of California, and Arizona’s Rep. Yassamin Ansari, the Democratic freshman class president. 

“That’s undemocratic,” Stanton shouted after the group failed to be recognized. 

The attempt followed a similar failed effort by Rep. Jim McGovern to be recognized in the House during its Monday pro forma session.

Johnson blames shutdown

Johnson has received flak from Democrats for having sworn in two of his own party’s members during a pro forma session earlier this year, including Reps. Jimmy Patronis and Randy Fine of Florida. 

“Speaker Johnson needs to stop dragging his feet and follow the same precedent he set in swearing in his Republican colleagues earlier this year,” Grijalva said in a statement.

“If he would simply give me a date and time, I will be there,” she said. 

Wednesday marked the eighth day of the government shutdown, as dueling GOP and Democratic stopgap bills in the Senate failed to advance yet again.

“We will swear in Rep.-Elect Grijalva as soon as the House returns to Session when Chuck Schumer, Mark Kelly and (Ruben) Gallego decide to open up the Government,” a spokesperson for Johnson’s office said Wednesday prior to Democrats’ latest attempt, referencing the respective Senate minority leader from New York and Arizona’s two Democratic senators. 

“It is custom practice in the House to swear in members when the chamber is in session,” the spokesperson said. 

A day prior, Johnson had told reporters “we will swear her in when everybody gets back, it’s a ceremonial duty,” adding: “Look, we’ll schedule it, I guess, as soon as she wants.”