Arizona Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego accused Republican Congressman Juan Ciscomani of protecting pedophiles like Jeffrey Epstein in a statement.

“Congressman Juan Ciscomani is not in Washington because he is protecting the pedophiles on Epstein's list. There were at least 15 Latina victims of Epstein, and most were immigrants who needed money. We must bring to justice the perpetrators who preyed on underage girls,” Gallego stated. Gallego said in his statement about Ciscomani: “Instead of confronting the problem of sexual exploitation in our community and voting to release the Epstein files, Ciscomani is hiding. He is hiding because he doesn't want to extend Obamacare premium subsidies. He is hiding because he doesn't want to extend SNAP food assistance funding. “He is hiding because he doesn't care about the problems that working people face every day.” “Furthermore, Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva, who would be the first Latina to represent Arizona in Congress, is being blocked from taking office to protect the pedophiles on Epstein's list. And Ciscomani is saying nothing.” “Release Epstein's files immediately! The 15 Latino victims deserve it,” Senator Gallego demanded in closing his statement. Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego and Republican Congressman Juan Ciscomani hold divergent positions on several issues, including the soon-to-expire health subsidies that are a sticking point for congressional Democrats. “We want to reach an agreement with our Republican colleagues to prevent this from affecting 500,000 Arizonans and 24 million Americans,” Gallego stated on October 24 in an interview with Andrew Capasso of News 4 Tucson, regarding the current impasse over a joint resolution to temporarily fund the government and end the shutdown. Ciscomani retort: ??“We knew this deadline was coming; it was set by the Democrats three years ago.” The tension between Gallego and Ciscomani, related to the government shutdown, has spread to other local and national media outlets and social media, where Gallego also challenged Ciscomani for debate."How can I negotiate? The president is in Asia for five days. Johnson is keeping the House of Representatives out until January to protect pedophiles. Who am I supposed to negotiate with? That's a death sentence for the leadership of Congress," Gallego said in an interview with CNBC on Monday.