It has been 41 days since Adelita Grijalva won her special election, but she still hasn’t been sworn in. The delay, now the longest in recent history, comes as the U.S. House of Representatives remains mostly out of session during the ongoing government shutdown.
Speaker Mike Johnson has said Grijalva will be sworn in once the government reopens. While House rules allow the Speaker to administer the oath of office at any time, Johnson has chosen to wait until regular proceedings resume.
This means that, even though Grijalva has been officially elected and certified, she cannot participate in congressional votes or represent her district until she is sworn in.
Grijalva has continued to post updates on social media, expressing both her frustration and her desire to start working for Arizona.
Last week, Grijalva shared a video on social media stating that “it’s been 36 days since our election, and we have surpassed waiting the longest of anyone in recent history. If you’re sick of me coming on and saying, ‘I’m still not yet sworn in,’ guess what, I am sick of it too. I want to be sworn in, working for Arizona, and being at the table when these important discussions are happening.”
In another social media post, Grijalva pointed to the limited number of days the House has been in session this year.
“In order for the shutdown to end, Congress has to be in session,” she said.
“Right now, the House has worked 19 days in four months. I don’t know any job where you can do that. What I hope Juan [Ciscomani] will do is call on his leadership to get back to work, because then we end the shutdown, and I get sworn in. It’s a [two-for-one],” she commented.
Despite the delay, Grijalva thanked her supporters for continuing to follow her journey, noting that she would share updates as soon as there's progress.
