Adelita Grijalva says Speaker Mike Johnson’s decision to delay her swearing-in has completely backfired. In her view, it’s given her more attention and a bigger platform than she could have built on her own.
“I do think that Speaker Johnson misplayed his hand on this one,” Grijalva said during an appearance on the Legal AF podcast with host Michael Popok. “I think he thought, oh well, it’s just, you know, this woman in Arizona, we’re gonna go ahead and keep her quiet. What he has done in stopping this obstruction of swearing me in is really highlighting how corrupt this administration is.”
For weeks, Grijalva has been waiting to take her seat in the House of Representatives, but Johnson has continued to stall. The Speaker has said that he’ll administer the oath when the government “returns to normalcy.” Critics say that’s just another way of buying time — and that the delay is politically motivated.
To her supporters, the delay looks less like procedure and more like punishment. Johnson’s office insists that it’s simply a scheduling issue, but the optics are hard to miss. Other members have been sworn in within a day of their victories, while Grijalva’s wait has stretched into weeks. Her allies say the delay conveniently prevents her from casting what could be a decisive vote to force the release of the Epstein Files documents, rumored to contain the names of powerful Republicans, possibly including President Donald Trump.
Rather than shrink from the fight, Grijalva has leaned into it. She told Popok that the ordeal has opened unexpected doors, connecting her with supporters nationwide. “This situation has allowed me to connect with people across the country,” she said, noting that it would have taken years to reach that level of recognition under normal circumstances.
The story has also resonated at home in Arizona. During recent No Kings protests, demonstrators waved signs demanding that Johnson and the Trump administration swear her in. What started as a local procedural battle has become a national rallying point for those who see the Speaker’s move as a symbol of political obstruction.
Still, Grijalva insists that she’s keeping her focus on reform, not retribution. “Thank you, Speaker Johnson,” she said, her tone equal parts defiant and wry. “For making sure that what you did is highlight how corrupt this system you’re protecting is. And we’re going to fight through that. We really are.”
Behind the scenes, the frustration is mounting as legal experts and constitutional scholars have called Johnson’s refusal to swear her in unprecedented, arguing that it leaves her constituents effectively voiceless in Congress. State officials have even discussed potential legal action to compel the House to act, though such a move would be largely symbolic.
If the Speaker’s goal was to sideline Grijalva, the outcome has been the opposite. The Arizona lawmaker has become a headline fixture, a rallying name in protest chants, and, to many, a symbol of how power can be used to silence dissent. But in Grijalva’s telling, Johnson’s effort to keep her quiet may have just made her louder.
