House Republican Sets the Record Straight On Jonathan Karl’s Fact Check of Mike Johnson

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Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA) set the record straight Monday after ABC News’s Jon Karl attempted to fact-check the House Speaker over his delayed swearing in of a congresswoman-elect.

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) has been sharply criticized for failing to give the oath of office to Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ), who was voted in by her constituents weeks ago to fill her late father’s congressional seat. Grijalva said she believed Johnson was stalling because she has vowed to be the 218th petition signer needed to open the Epstein files.

Johnson told Karl on Sunday that “this is the way the institution works” and he was “following the Pelosi precedent,” explaining that when Letlow was elected to fill her late husband’s seat during the COVID-19 shutdown, “Nancy Pelosi took 25 days to swear her in.”

KARL: Are you saying that Nancy Pelosi refused to swear her in earlier?

JOHNSON: No, I’m saying — that’s — my very point is, this is the normal process —

KARL: Because my understanding is, that was the date that actually the representative-elect, Letlow, at the time, requested.

JOHNSON: No. OK, here’s some more examples, OK.

KARL: No, no, but wait a minute, you mentioned “the Pelosi precedent.” But Pelosi didn’t delay that. She — she gave the date that —

JOHNSON: No, no, let me give you more of the Pelosi precedent, OK?

KARL: And what about the Johnson precedent? I mean, you swore in two Republicans the day after their election.

Letlow posted to X Monday, “I did not request a delayed swearing-in. My preference was to begin serving immediately after my special election. Democrats should quit with these political games and reopen the government so we can conduct the people’s business.”

Following the dustup over Letlow, Karl continued to press Johnson, asking, “You could swear [Grijalva] in tomorrow, right? I mean —

JOHNSON: No, not tomorrow. No, we — we couldn’t. We wouldn’t. There was an exception for two Floridians earlier in this Congress. But the reason was, they were duly elected. They had a date set. They flew in all their friends and family and the House went out of session unexpectedly.

KARL: So — so, if she flies in friends and family, then you would —

JOHNSON: We don’t have a date set. She was elected after we went out of session.

The government shutdown, largely over the issue of healthcare benefits in the continuing resolution, has dragged on for 20 days so far.