Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ) ripped House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Wednesday night for failing to swear her in during a pro forma session, even though he previously swore in two Republican members under similar circumstances.
Grijalva won the special election to replace her late father, Raúl Grijalva, in Arizona's deep-blue 7th Congressional District in September. Arizona's Secretary of State recently certified her election, but Johnson has not yet conducted a formal swearing-in ceremony for Grijalva.
Some experts suspect the delay is due to Grijalva's support for a bipartisan discharge petition that would force the White House to release the Epstein files, which President Donald Trump has tried to avoid doing for several months. The bill needs 218 votes to pass, and there are currently 217 signatories.
During an interview on Fox News, Johnson made a few remarks that Grijalva found "offensive."
"Bless her heart," Johnson said. "She's a Representative-elect. She doesn't know how things work around here."
Grijalva responded to Johnson's statement on CNN's "OutFront."
"How offensive and how patronizing," Grijalva told Burnett. "Really? I do know that two members of Congress were sworn in on a pro forma session. We've had several since I've been elected. And yesterday my race was certified. So, that's how things work. Your job as Speaker is to swear people in, whether you politically align with them or not, whether they're going to sign a discharge petition that you want out or not. Your job is to swear me in."
