Attorney General Kris Mayes is threatening legal action against House Speaker Mike Johnson for not swearing in Southern Arizona’s newest member of Congress.
Mayes accused Johnson of stonewalling the swearing-in process for representative-elect Adelita Grijalva at Tuesday’s official canvass of the Congressional District 7 special election, where Secretary of State Adrien Fontes certified Grijalva’s win alongside Governor Katie Hobbs and Election Director Lisa Marra.
“It is way past time… for House Speaker Mike Johnson to stop the political games and seat Adelita without delay,” Mayes said.
Her office also sent a three page letter to Johnson on Tuesday, giving him a deadline of two days to provide a date Grijalva will be seated before the House is back in session.
“You and your staff have provided ever-shifting, unsatisfactory, and sometimes absurd stories as to why Ms. Grijalva has not been sworn in,” the letter reads.
Hobbs did not name Johnson, but called the certification a “basic, administrative function,” and urged congressional leadership to do the same.
“I would suggest Washington politicians follow our lead,” she said.
Mayes says her office will escalate legal action if Johnson fails to respond within the two-day deadline.
She and other Democrats argue Johnson delivered the oath of office to two Republican House members in April within 24 hours of them winning special elections, and that Grijalva’s entrance to Congress is being delayed for her promise to sign a petition to release the Epstein files.
A total of 102,099 people voted in the special election for Congressional District 7 to replace the late Rep. Raul Grijalva, with a turnout rate across six counties of just over 23%. Grijalva won with 70,148 votes, about 69%.
