Senators press Mike Johnson to swear in Democrat who could force Epstein vote | House of Representatives
Arizona Democratic senators pressed Mike Johnson on Wednesday to swore in their state’s newest representative, Adelita Grijalva, but the Republican House speaker refused to budge until funding for the government was restored.
Grijalva, a Democrat, last month won a special election to replace her late father, Raul Grijalva, in a southern Arizona House district. However, she was unable to take on her new role because Johnson was not sworn in.
On Wednesday afternoon, Arizona’s two Democratic senators, Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, met to answer questions from the press in front of the Speaker of the House’s office in the Capitol. Johnson soon arrived, and Democrats pressed him when Grijalva would be sworn in.
“We will do that as soon as we get back to work, but we need to turn the lights back on, so we encourage you both to open up the government,” the spokesman replied, according to a video of the exchange.
Grijalva told The Guardian she believes Johnson is delaying her official start in the House of Representatives because only one more signature on a petition is needed to force a vote on legislation that would require the release of files related to the late alleged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
When Gallego asked if that was really the case, Johnson called the idea “completely ridiculous.”
“You guys are experts at misinformation and distraction,” he told senators, later calling the meeting a “publicity stunt.”
The spokesman also denied that Grijalva would be treated differently than two Florida Republicans who won special elections earlier this year and were quickly sworn in.
“They had a designated day for the swearing-in, and the House was called to end the session on that day. They had all their family and friends here, so we went ahead and went through that process,” Johnson said.
This controversy occurred at a time when Democrats and Republicans are still at odds over the restart of government funding, which ended last Wednesday. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers have been furloughed, while national parks and government offices across the country have been closed or reduced services.
Republicans are demanding that Democrats support a bill to fund the government until November 21, but the minority party has refused and instead demanded a number of concessions focused on health care.
The measure has already passed the House, and Johnson kept the chamber out of session in an attempt to pressure Senate Democrats to deliver the eight votes he is expected to need for upper chamber approval.
The confrontation between Johnson and Democratic senators was not the only confrontation that took place in the Capitol building on Wednesday.
As he was leaving a press conference, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries was challenged by Republican Representative Mike Lawler, who demanded that he sign legislation that would extend for one year the premium tax credits for Affordable Care Act plans – a key requirement for Democrats.
“We got a one-year extension. Why don’t we sign the contract now?” asked Lawler, who sparred briefly with Democratic senators outside Johnson’s office.
Lawler and Jeffries got into a minutes-long argument, according to the video, that ended when the minority leader told the representative, a fellow New Yorker seen as vulnerable to losing re-election: “You’re embarrassing yourself and your district now, and you’re going to get defeated next year.”