Several dozen House Democrats marched to Speaker Mike Johnson’s office Tuesday evening, demanding the immediate swearing in of Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, three weeks after she won the special election to fill the seat left vacant by her late father, Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona.
Chanting “swear her in,” members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus and other lawmakers walked into Johnson’s office suite before leaving minutes later. The speaker was not present at the time, according to two individuals who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss his whereabouts.
It was the latest in a series of escalating protests by Democrats demanding that Grijalva be officially seated. Johnson has said she will be sworn in when the House returns to session, but with the chamber closed during the ongoing government shutdown, there is no clear timeline for when that will happen.
Grijalva, a Democrat from Arizona’s 7th District, said she finally received the keys to her congressional office on Tuesday — only to discover it was empty.
“I just got keys, but the phone lines aren’t working,” Grijalva told Politico reporter Nicholas Wu. “There is no internet, no computers. It’s just a space.”
Grijalva easily won the Sept. 23 special election with 69 percent of the vote, defeating her Republican challenger by a wide margin. Her father, Raúl Grijalva, who represented the Tucson-based district for more than two decades, died on March 13.
Despite the Arizona state government certifying her election, Grijalva has not yet been sworn in, leaving her unable to hire staff, access congressional resources, or cast votes on legislation. She said the situation has left her constituents without representation in the House during a critical time.
Democrats accuse House Republicans of intentionally delaying the swearing-in to maintain their narrow advantage while key votes loom. One such vote concerns a bill to release the long-sought Epstein files — documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
Grijalva has publicly suggested that Republican leadership is blocking her from being seated because her vote would give Democrats the 218th they need to pass the measure and force the release of the records.
“There’s no reason for this delay except politics,” Grijalva said earlier this month. “My election is certified. My district deserves its voice in Congress.”
Calls to make the Epstein files public have grown louder in recent weeks, with pressure coming from across the political spectrum, including from President Donald Trump’s supporters who argue the public has a right to see the names and evidence contained in the sealed documents.
Videos posted to social media Tuesday evening showed Grijalva and several other House Democrats marching toward Johnson’s office while chanting “swear her in.” In a separate clip, she directly addressed the speaker.
“Speaker Johnson,” she said, “you ready to swear me in?”
Grijalva said she plans to remain in Washington until she is seated.
The situation highlights the increasingly bitter partisanship on Capitol Hill as the government shutdown drags on and Democrats accuse Johnson of using the closure to stall both legislative action and the seating of a duly elected member.
As of Tuesday night, Johnson’s office had not publicly commented on the protest or provided a timeline for Grijalva’s swearing-in ceremony.
