‘Swear Her in!’ Republican Frantically Adjourns House to Avoid Swearing in New Member to Duck Epstein Files Vote

Republicans swiftly adjourned the House session Tuesday as Democrats shouted for a newly-elected Democratic member to be sworn in.

Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ) won a special election on Sept. 23, easily trouncing her Republican opponent in the deep-blue district 69% to 29%. Grijalva will succeed her father, Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), who died on March 13, in representing Arizona’s 7th district — as soon as she is sworn in.

House Republicans are dragging their feet on letting Grijalva officially join their ranks, and it’s looking increasingly likely that the government shutdown deadline at midnight could arrive without Grijalva being sworn in, further delaying her officially becoming a member of Congress.

Widely speculated as contributing to the reason for the delay in swearing in Grijalva is the vote to release the Epstein files, as she would be the 218th vote to pass the bill in the House. There has been a lot of demand — including from President Donald Trump’s MAGA base — to release the files related to deceased convicted sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein and his former girlfriend and accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, and documents obtained by media outlets have only heightened the interest in bringing transparency to the matter.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), one of the Republican sponsors of the bipartisan measure to release the Epstein files, confirmed to reporters just after Grijalva’s special election victory that she would be the 218 vote to pass the bill.

On Tuesday, Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) was designated to act as speaker pro tempore during the House’s pro forma session, but he didn’t hold the gavel for long.

After leading the House in the Pledge of Allegiance, Griffith immediately turned back to the podium and said, “Pursuant to Clause 13 of Rule 1, the House stands adjourned until 3:30 pm on Friday, October 3rd at 2025.”

As Griffith began speaking, Democrats began calling out to be recognized, and for Grijalva to be sworn in, chanting “swear her in” and “shame on you.” The Virginia Republican was undeterred and gaveled to end the session.

Grijalva has complained about Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) delaying her swearing in, arguing that it is leaving southern Arizona without a representative and needed constituent services.

According to a report by Em Luetkemeyer and Oriana González at NOTUS, Grijalva said on Tuesday that her situation was “frustrating” because she “can’t hire staff,” hasn’t yet been given access to an office, and “can’t get around without being escorted.” Reporters observed Grijalva having to wait to go through security Tuesday morning with members of the public and press, which she said was a “second-class-citizen feeling” compared to the congressional members who can bypass the security line.

Grijalva also pointed out that two Florida Republicans who won special elections earlier this year — Reps. Randy Fine (R-FL) and Jimmy Patronis (R-FL) — were sworn in during pro forma sessions, so she was simply asking Republicans to follow their own precedent.

Watch the clip above via C-SPAN.