House Democrats marched angrily to Speaker Mike Johnson’s office Tuesday, demanding that he immediately swear in Arizona Democrat Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva.
But there was just one problem, Johnson wasn’t even there.
Members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, joined by several colleagues from the broader Democratic Caucus and Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva herself, marched through the Capitol on Tuesday night, chanting “Swear her in!” and “What is he afraid of?… Epstein! ”as they made their way to House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office.
WATCH:
House Democrats are marching to Speaker Mike Johnson’s office to demand he swear in Rep-elect Adelita Grijalva
They have a call-and-response going:
“What is he afraid of?”
“Epstein!” pic.twitter.com/Xf5di0FpOw— Ally Mutnick (@allymutnick) October 14, 2025
Democrats walk to Speaker Mike Johnson’s office, demanding he swear in Arizona congresswoman-elect Adelita Girjalva pic.twitter.com/bldr2s2MjJ
— Kevin Frey (@KevinJFrey) October 14, 2025
In a video posted to X, Grijalva herself recorded a message outside Johnson’s office:
“Hi, friends. Adelita Grijalva, your congresswoman-elect. I’m here in D.C., standing right outside of Speaker Johnson’s office. I was certified today. Certified. That means the governor, the attorney general, and the secretary of state have all said yes, she won. And now they’re asking Speaker Johnson, demanding that he swear me in.”
“So that’s why I’m here. I came with a lot of my colleagues from the Democratic caucus and the women’s caucus. They all joined me in asking, demanding that I get sworn in. Going to be here for two days. Speaker Johnson, you want to swear me in?”
WATCH:
.@SpeakerJohnson You ready to swear me in? pic.twitter.com/9FHRYUT7RD
— Adelita Grijalva (@AdelitaForAZ) October 15, 2025
Grijalva released the following statement:
“Today’s certification simply confirms what the voters made clear 21 days ago: we won this election decisively by more than 40,000 votes,” said Representative-elect Grijalva. “I want to thank Governor Hobbs, Attorney General Mayes, and Secretary Fontes for fulfilling their duties and standing up for the more than 800,000 Arizonans who currently do not have a voice in Congress. They did their jobs, now it’s time for Speaker Johnson to do his.
I also want to thank Attorney General Mayes for her letter; I will continue to be in close contact with her as we explore legal options if the Speaker continues to drag his feet.
“Speaker Johnson has exhausted every excuse to delay my swearing-in. I am simply asking him to abide by the same precedent he set when he swore in his Republican colleagues within 24 hours of their special elections and during pro forma sessions earlier this year. Any further delay reveals his true motive: Speaker Johnson is stalling because he knows I will be the 218th signature on the discharge petition to release the Epstein files.
“The cost of his obstruction is the silencing of over 800,000 Southern Arizonans who deserve to have a voice in Congress. It is also robbing them of the essential constituent services they count on every day, especially during this Republican government shutdown.”
Speaker Johnson is stalling because he knows I will be the 218th signature on the discharge petition to release the Epstein files.
Read my full statement below ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/BMfcPruf4Y
— Adelita Grijalva (@AdelitaForAZ) October 14, 2025
While Democrats shouted outside his empty office, Speaker Johnson was at the White House Rose Garden as Trump posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated by a radical far-leftist.
Critics blasted the Democrats’ stunt, noting that their own party caused the current government shutdown, and that no new taxpayer-funded procedures, including swearing-in ceremonies, should proceed until Congress restores government funding.