Arizona AG Files Lawsuit to Force Grijalva Swearing-In

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes filed a federal lawsuit against Speaker Mike Johnson, demanding that Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva be sworn in immediately. Grijalva had won a certified special election on Sept. 23, 2025, but Johnson had declined to schedule her oath of office for seven weeks. NPR and Cronkite News reported that the delay coincided precisely with the period when Grijalva's signature would have provided the 218th vote on the Epstein discharge petition. Johnson offered changing procedural justifications over the seven weeks. The suit highlighted the Speaker's near-total control over member seating as an underexamined power of the majority party.