Representative Adelita Grijalva, an Arizona Democrat, was sworn into office Wednesday by House Speaker Mike Johnson and took the opportunity to blast President Donald Trump and Congress.
Speaking to her colleagues on the House floor Wednesday, Grijalva said, “While we celebrate this moment today, our American promise is under serious threat.
“Basic freedoms are under attack. Health care premiums are skyrocketing. Babies are being ripped away from their parents by masked agents. We can and must do better.”
She then blamed Congress for not holding the Trump administration accountable for issues concerning affordable healthcare, immigration raids and more.
“What is most concerning is not what this administration has done, but what the majority in this body has failed to do — hold Trump accountable as a coequal branch of government that we are,” Grijalva said.
Grijalva also took her time on the floor to address her delayed swearing-in.
“It has been 50 days since the people of Arizona’s seventh congressional district elected me to represent them. Fifty days that over 800,000 Arizonans have been left without access to the basic services that every constituent deserves.
“This is an abuse of power. One individual should not be able to unilaterally obstruct the swearing in of a duly elected member of Congress for political reasons,” Grijalva said in an apparent jab at Johnson.
Johnson has been accused of stalling the ceremony amid the ongoing government shutdown, as Grijalva is key to forcing a vote on the release of documents relating to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The speaker has denied such allegations.
The Trump administration came under fire earlier this year for what critics said was a lack of transparency when it came to the so-called Epstein files.
Some have accused Trump, who was Epstein’s friend decades ago, of being in the files, to explain why the White House has been so adamant on moving on from what the president has called a “hoax.”
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released email exchanges earlier Wednesday in which Epstein allegedly told his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell that Trump “spent hours” at his house with one of Epstein’s victims.
Asked about it, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “These emails prove absolutely nothing other than the fact that President Trump did nothing wrong.”
Grijalva mentioned the emails during her speech on the House floor and said, “It’s past time for Congress to restore its role as a check and balance on this administration and fight for we, the American people … That is why I will sign the discharge petition right now to release the Epstein files.”
The newly sworn-in congresswoman is the last signature needed on Representatives Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna’s (D-Calif.) discharge petition to force the House to vote on the release of the Epstein files.
If the House votes to release the files, the bill would still need to be passed by the Senate, and signed by Trump.
Grijalva won a special election on September 23 for the seat vacated by the passing of her father, former Representative Raúl Grijalva, who died in March during his 12th term in Congress.
Lauren Hersh, national director of the anti-trafficking group World Without Exploitation, congratulated Grijalva “on her swearing-in and on her resolve to sign the Epstein discharge petition, a crucial step toward uncovering the full truth about Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and the systems that enabled their abuse.”
“Survivors who have worked with World Without Exploitation were proud to stand with Congresswoman Grijalva today as she demonstrated her commitment to transparency and justice,” Hersh said.
“We urge every member of Congress to join Rep. Grijalva in demanding the full release of the Epstein files and in standing firmly with those whose courage continues to drive the fight for truth.”
