JOHNSON AFRAID TO SWEAR IN LATINA HOUSE MEMBER OVER EPSTEIN FILES

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

Recently-elected Arizona Democrat Adelita Grijalva could deliver the tie-breaking vote to release the government’s files on alleged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. That is, if House Speaker Mike Johnson doesn’t delay her swearing in. And he is, by keeping the House closed.

Grijalva, who won 68 percent of the vote in a special election for Arizona’s 7th congressional district September 23, is set to tip the scales for Democrats and their few Republican allies hoping to force the government’s hand on the long-awaited release of documents on Epstein. But when exactly she’ll be sworn-in isn’t set, and it’s cause for concern.

Grijalva could have been sworn in, but if Johnson waits for Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes to deliver the official vote certification she will be sidelined during the vote on the Epsein files.

“I think that maybe it has to do with the fact that I am the 218th signer to push for a vote on the release of the Epstein files,” Grijalva told KGUN 9, adding that she planned to head to Washington to caucus with Democrats.

“I am going, even though I have no official capacity there yet, it is very clear I won this election by nearly 40 points,” Grijalva said.

She also pointed out that when Representative James Walkinshaw of Virginia won a special election just a few weeks ago, he was sworn in without having to wait for certification.

In a statement, Johnson’s office said that the House would proceed with “standard practice” and wait for the “appropriate paperwork from the state.” So far, Congress has only received a letter from Fontes’s office saying that unofficial results show Grijalva the clear winner.

Lawmakers who win special elections generally take the oath of office on days in which legislative business is conducted, and they are welcomed with warm applause from members on both sides of the aisle. They give a short speech as family and friends watch from the galleries.

Yet there is precedent for doing it differently. On April 2, Johnson swore in Republican Reps. Jimmy Patronis and Randy Fine, both of Florida, less than 24 hours after they won their special elections, during a pro forma session.

“As a courtesy to them and their families, we went ahead and administered the oath to an empty chamber. It was no fun. They didn’t get the same pomp and circumstance everybody else gets,” Johnson said Thursday on C-SPAN when asked by a caller about Grijalva. “We’re going to administer the oath as soon as she gets back.”

Representatives Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna are just one signature shy on their bipartisan bid to force a vote – which would likely go to the House floor and pass with Grijalva’s signature.