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Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes threatened legal action against House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) for failing to formally swear in Democratic Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva.
“It’s way past time for Mike Johnson to stop the political games and seat Adelita without delay. Today, my office is sending a letter to Speaker Johnson demanding he do so,” Mayes said in a statement, according to The Hill.
“We are keeping every option open to us, including litigation, to hold him accountable and make sure that Adelita is able to begin her work as Arizona’s newest member of Congress,” Mayes added.
On behalf of Arizona, I am demanding Speaker Johnson seat Congresswoman Grijlva without delay. We are keeping every option open to us, including litigation, to make sure that Adelita is able to begin her work as Arizona’s newest member of Congress. pic.twitter.com/UredD2db9C
— AZ Attorney General Kris Mayes (@AZAGMayes) October 14, 2025
More from The Hill:
Grijalva won a special election on Sept. 23 for the Arizona seat that was long held by her father, the late Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.). But despite decisively winning the seat, she has not yet been sworn in.
Johnson has canceled weeks of previously scheduled votes and kept the House in recess amid the government shutdown as he aims to pressure Senate Democrats into accepting the GOP-crafted, House-passed “clean” stopgap bill to fund the government through Nov. 21.
He has declined to swear Grijalva in during the brief “pro forma” sessions that the chamber holds for constitutional appointment reasons, and he has said he will swear in Grijalva when the House is back in regular session — reiterating the position in a statement in response to Mayes on Tuesday.
“It is no surprise that yet another Democrat politician from Arizona is trying a publicity stunt. I’ve explained this a thousand times, we’re going to swear in Grijalva as soon as we get back to legislative session,” Johnson told reporters.
Check it out:
House Speaker Mike Johnson responds to AG Mayes: “It is no surprise that yet another Democrat politician from Arizona is trying a publicity stunt. I’ve explained this a thousand times, we’re going to swear in Grijalva as soon as we get back to legislative session.” https://t.co/P5jZxaXFxn pic.twitter.com/xebXm0n5R8
— Veronica Stracqualursi (@VeronicaStrac) October 14, 2025
USA TODAY noted:
It’s not clear when the shutdown will end, however, as negotiations between Republicans and Democrats over a funding deal remain at a standstill. The Senate has repeatedly voted on a bill that passed the House last month and would temporarily fund the government, but the bill has failed to advance in the upper chamber.
Mayes wrote in her letter that Grijalva’s swearing in “must be immediate and prior to the date the House comes back into regular session,” and that Johnson responds to her office within two days with “assurance of when and where that will take place.”
“Should you fail to provide such assurance, we will be forced to seek judicial relief to protect Arizona and the residents of its Seventh Congressional District,” Mayes wrote.
Grijalva won the special election to represent Arizona’s seventh congressional district, which includes almost all of the state’s border with Mexico, on Sept. 23. She is the deciding signature on a petition that would force a vote on a bill to release files related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Without her sworn in, the paperwork remains stalled.