Several dozen House Democrats marched to Speaker Mike Johnson’s office Tuesday evening, demanding the immediate swearing in of Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, three weeks after she won the special election to fill the seat left vacant by her late father, Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona.
Chanting “swear her in,” members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus and other lawmakers walked into Johnson’s office suite before leaving minutes later. The speaker was not present at the time, according to two individuals who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss his whereabouts.
It was the latest in a series of escalating protests by Democrats demanding that Grijalva be officially seated. Johnson has said she will be sworn in when the House returns to session, but with the chamber closed during the ongoing government shutdown, there is no clear timeline for when that will happen.
Grijalva, a Democrat from Arizona’s 7th District, said she finally received the keys to her congressional office on Tuesday — only to discover it was empty.
