Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on the tenth day of the federal government shutdown on Oct. 10, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Alex Wroblewski/AFP via Getty Images)
Grijalva won a special election on Sept. 23 to replace her father, late Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., after he passed away from cancer at age 77.
Johnson has repeatedly said that Grijalva will be sworn into office when the House returns to its regular sessions. But it's not clear when exactly that will be — the House GOP leader has threatened to keep his lawmakers out of Washington, D.C., until the ongoing government shutdown is over.
It's a bid to pressure Senate Democrats, led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to agree to the GOP's plan to fund the federal government through Nov. 21.
But Schumer and his allies have resisted thus far, sinking the Republican-led bill 11 times and keeping the shutdown going for 21 days.
House Democrats have accused Johnson of playing politics and depriving Arizona's 7th Congressional District of representation in the process.
"Republicans on vacation for four weeks — and one of the consequences of that is that Republicans have refused, now for four consecutive weeks, to swear in Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva, depriving hundreds of thousands of people in the state of Arizona of the representation that they deserve, particularly during this challenging moment in the country," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said during a press conference on Tuesday.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, then a Democratic candidate for her role, speaks at a Women's March rally outside the State Capitol on Oct. 8, 2022 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
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The measure, called a discharge petition, is designed to end-run House leaders on specific legislation — provided it has a majority of lawmakers' signatures.
Johnson and House GOP leaders have called the measure superfluous and political, pointing to the chamber's own ongoing investigation and procedures aimed at widening transparency into Epstein's case.
However, the speaker has signaled he would not block the measure if it came to the House floor when Grijalva was sworn in.
Fox News Digital reached out to Johnson for a response but did not immediately hear back.
Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/speaker-johnson-hit-democrat-led-lawsuit-over-delayed-swearing-in-amid-house-shutdown-chaos