Johnson Brushes Off Mayes’ Lawsuit Over Grijalva Swearing-In

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes today with Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva, has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. House of Representatives demanding that Grijalva be sworn in despite the fact that the government is currently mid-shutdown.

Although Grijalva’s election was certified just one week ago, Mayes and her fellow Democrats have been insisting that House Speaker Mike Johnson swear her into office for longer still.

According to AZFREE News, Grijalva received nearly 70 percent of the 102,000 votes certified, a “substantial share” of which were mail-in ballots. There are about 440,000 registered voters in the district, which would mean Grijalva was elected by just 16 percent of all active registered voters in the district. Even though Grijalva represents far less than a quarter of voters in her district — and her father was virtually absent from two whole sessions of Congress — Democrats insist on the relevance of immediate representation for the seventh congressional district.

Grijalva had been accused of playing political games with her demands to be sworn in prior to the certification of the special election.

For his part, Speaker Johnson has scoffed at Mayes’ stunt, calling it absurd.

“I think it’s patently absurd. We run the House. She has no jurisdiction. We’re following the precedent. She’s looking for national publicity. Apparently, she’s gotten some of it, but good luck with that,” Johnson told MSNBC.

“I’m following the Pelosi precedent, by the way,” Johnson told Fox News host Laura Ingraham. “When my dear friend, Congresswoman Julia Letlow from Louisiana, won a special election to succeed her late husband in 2021, Pelosi took 25 days to swear her in. Nobody had a rant or beat down the doors. We just understood that was part of the legislative process, and that’s where we are right now.”

There is no rule that allows or prohibits a swearing-in during a shutdown, a pro forma session or even during recess.

“Speaker Mike Johnson is actively stripping the people of Arizona of one of their seats in Congress and disenfranchising the voters of Arizona’s 7th Congressional District in the process,” Mayes said in a statement.

I didn't get sworn into Congress after my 2018 special election until the U.S. House was in session…. that's what's happening with Grijalva. The Democrats and Media are making a big deal over nothing.

— Debbie Lesko (@DebbieLesko) October 10, 2025

“I didn’t get sworn into Congress after my 2018 special election until the U.S. House was in session,” tweeted former Congresswoman Debbie Lesko, “that’s what’s happening with Grijalva. The Democrats and Media are making a big deal over nothing.”

“Lesko is right,” one GOP consultant told the Arizona Daily Independent. “They are making a big deal over nothing, but that is what they do best. They certainly don’t govern, they just grouse. It is what they learned in their Grievance Studies courses.”