Dozens of organizations urge Republican leader to swear in Adelita Grijalva
Grijalva is expected to be the decisive signature in forcing a vote on a bill for the release of Jeffrey Epstein's files
Democratic Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva won the special election in Arizona several weeks ago, but has yet to be sworn in by House Speaker Mike Johnson amid the partial federal government shutdown.
Almost a month after her victory, Representative elect still cannot assume her seat, so a coalition of 30 organizations, mostly Latino, urged the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Republican Mike Johnson, to swear in the Democrat. In a letter, the organizations warned that the delay in Grijalva's swearing in represents "a deliberate obstruction" of the representation of some 800,000 voters in Arizona's 7th Congressional District, which is predominantly Latino. The organizations' request joins that of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) and the Democratic Women's Caucus, which have pressured the House leader to allow the Democrat to take office. Grijalva, the first Latina woman elected to represent Arizona in the US Congress, has been waiting for about three weeks to be sworn in after an overwhelming victory in a special election in which she obtained nearly 70% of the votes. Please.
Johnson has said that Grijalva, elected on September 23, will be sworn in once the government shutdown ends, which today reached its 16th day.
Initially, the Republican had argued that he was waiting for the certification of his victory, already issued by the Arizona Secretary of State.
“This delay is not procedural, it's intentional,” Grijalva said at a press conference surrounded by important Democratic figures in the US Congress.
“He is doing everything he can to protect this administration from accountability. That is not leadership, that is obstruction,” charged the Hispanic, who replaces his father, Congressman Raul Grijalva, who died last March of cancer.
For her part, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, threatened Johnson with legal action for the delay.
“It's time for Mike Johnson to stop his political games and appoint Adelita Grijalba to the position without delay,” the attorney general said, announcing that she sent a letter to the Republican leader demanding that he swear in the Democrat.