Democrats staged a media stunt to try to get Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ) sworn into office this week.
A large group of liberals stormed the office of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) in the hopes of getting him to swear her into office, even though the House is not in a formal session due to the government shutdown.
Dems are claiming that Johnson is delaying Grijalva's ceremony due to a pending discharge petition regarding the Jeffrey Epstein files, but Johnson says that is not the case.
In late September, Grijalva won the special election for a seat vacated by her late father, former Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ).
The race was not even close, with Ms. Grijalva defeating her opponent 70.6% to 27.7%.
Generally speaking, a member would be sworn in right after the election, but the House was in recess from Sept. 22 to Sept. 28 for the Rosh Hashanah holiday, and the last two scheduled sessions from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1 were canceled, and the House was sent to recess amid the pending government shutdown.
With the House not having a formal session, Grijalva’s swearing-in has been delayed until the House comes back into session, and with the shutdown continuing, she has not been able to take her seat.
Once she is sworn in, Grijalva has made it clear that she will support the Epstein discharge petition brought forth by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY). Her signature would be the 218th signature on the measure, which would then force Johnson to put the matter of releasing materials in the case on the House floor for a vote.
In addition to Massie, Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), and Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) have all signed the petition.
Even though there is likely nothing in the files that would hurt President Donald Trump, the White House has, for some reason, been blocking the release of these documents.
Keep in mind, even if the measure passes in the House, it would then have to pass in the Senate, which is unlikely considering that the GOP holds the majority, and I doubt a dozen Republican senators are willing to cross Trump to approve it. The bottom line is that this is a publicity stunt, nothing more.
All the usual suspects got together to storm Johnson’s office to demand that Grijalva be sworn into office. The group was led by Grijalva and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), taking their spots in the front row to get all the media attention.
Johnson described the incident, stating, "They stormed my office. Maybe you saw some of the video online that they themselves shared or someone did, they berated a Capitol Police officer, screamed at him. He was just merely standing at his post.”
He added, "It shows again their disdain for law enforcement, as we see all around the country, the Democrats and everyone in that party screaming, assaulting ICE officers. They did it right here in the Capitol last night. A few members of Congress went into the little foyer of my office and tore down a sign that I had up and, and just engaged in all sorts of political stunts and antics.”
Everything Johnson said is dead on point, but I would add this… if you want Grijalva sworn into office, convince your fellow Democrat senators to sign onto the continuing resolution and end the shutdown.
