Arizona Democrat Adelita Grijalva sworn in after contentious seven-week delay

[Uncle Joe]

House Speaker Mike Johnson had refused to seat Grijalva during the shutdown. She will provide the final signature on a petition to force a vote to release the DOJ's Epstein files.

WASHINGTON — More than seven weeks after her special election victory, Arizona Democrat Adelita Grijalva stood on the House floor and took the oath of office Wednesday, marking the end of a bitter standoff with GOP Speaker Mike Johnson, who had refused to seat her during the record government shutdown.

Johnson swore Grijalva in as the House opened Wednesday afternoon to applause from both sides of the aisle. "Congratulations, you are now a member of Congress," he said.

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Grijalva represents the 218th signature on a bipartisan discharge petition, which will allow rank-and-file lawmakers to bypass Johnson and his leadership team and force a floor vote to release files. She signed the petition as her first act as a member of Congress.

That will force the House to hold a vote in the coming weeks to compel the Justice Department to release all of the files related to its investigation into Epstein. But the bill is unlikely to pass the Senate or be signed into law by Trump, who has personally urged Republicans to block the discharge push.

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https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/arizona-democrat-adelita-grijalva-sworn-contentious-seven-week-delay-rcna243007