Democratic Party newcomer Adelita Grijalva is still awaiting her swearing-in. Congress is currently not in session in respect of Jewish holy days. But Democrats believe the reason House Speaker Mike Johnson is actually delaying Grijalva’s swearing-in is because she might just be the tie-breaking vote that finally ensures the release of the Epstein files.
AP reports that Speaker Johnson has already set precedent in swearing in new Congress members when he swore in two new Republican members a day after winning their respective elections. At that time, Congress was also not in session. However, Speaker Johnson now claims that it’s just standard practice to only swear in new members when Congress is in session.
Democrats were up in arms, with harsh words being thrown Johnson’s way. Notably, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said, “There’s no justification to further delay the representative-elect from being sworn in as a member of the House.” But of course, there’s a lot at stake in the House right now, and it’s not just the recent government shutdown where Democrats are trying to force Republicans to make concessions on healthcare.
Before Donald Trump came into power, the message was clear — his administration was going to release the Jeffrey Epstein files once and for all and ensure his co-conspirators also faced justice in some form. But once Trump finally became the 47th president of the U.S., he suddenly had cold feet and every member of his administration mysteriously followed suit — even Elon Musk. Now, all people take consolation in is when Ted Cruz makes Freudian slips about protecting pedophiles.
In the final week of September 2025, Adelita Grijalva won a special election in Arizona. Her father, Raul Grijalva, had held the post for decades before passing away this year. Adelita won dominantly in her race and pledged that when she enters Congress her first order of business will be becoming the last signatory of a petition that will force a vote in Congress on whether to release the Epstein files.
The issue of releasing the Epstein files is a rather complex one. While it might seem that it has since turned into a party debate — it’s actually more complex than that. It’s a three-fold issue. There are Democrats, there are Republicans, and then there are MAGA Republicans. It’s a spectrum when you try to find out who exactly wants the files released, with Democrats and MAGA being on the extreme ends of said spectrum.
Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego took to X to blast Republicans by alleging that they have opted for some Arizonans to survive without representation all in the quest of “protecting pedophiles.” This is a far cry from what the Trump administration campaigned on.
Mike Johnson is delaying Adelita Grijalva’s swearing-in because she’d be the 218th vote to unseal the Epstein files.
— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) September 30, 2025
The @HouseGOP is leaving Southern Arizonans without representation to protect pedophiles. https://t.co/frJ4tcDxWM
Ultimately, while MAGA has been pretty unified, there have been some chinks that suggest that the one thing they don’t see eye to eye on is the Epstein saga. A lot has happened since that was the biggest news topic in the world. And the slow grind of bureaucracy can fool some into thinking that the story is over — but all it takes is one vote. Only one vote and suddenly everyone will know exactly who is protecting Epstein co-conspirators. Grijalva wants to be that one vote.
