Almost a month ago, on Sept. 23, nearly 70% of voters in Arizona’s 7th Congressional District cast their ballots for Adelita Grijalva. On Oct. 14, Arizona’s secretary of state officially certified Grijalva’s election. But despite that overwhelming mandate from the people, Rep.-elect Grijalva, the first Latina ever elected to Congress from Arizona, has not been sworn in or allowed to take her rightful place in the House of Representatives.
Why? Because Speaker Mike Johnson refuses to do his job.
For weeks, the speaker has stonewalled, delayed and twisted himself into knots trying to justify what is, at its core, a brazen act of voter disenfranchisement. First, he claimed Grijalva could be sworn in “as soon as she wants.” Then he insisted he couldn’t swear her in while the House was not in session, which is laughable given that earlier this year, he swore in two representatives elected in special elections during pro-forma sessions.
Nobody believes for one moment that if Grijalva’s Republican opponent had won, that person wouldn’t already be a sitting member of Congress.
Why the different treatment? Johnson claims that it was because the two members had families in town. But the truth is, those two members were Republicans — and Adelita Grijalva is a Democrat. Her seating would give the Democratic minority one more vote. Specifically, she would be the deciding signature on the discharge petition to force the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. That means Johnson’s refusal isn’t just political pettiness — it’s an attempt to prevent and delay the American public from learning the truth about one of the most prolific sexual predators in modern history.
When Arizona voters from Yuma to Tucson cast their ballots, they were promised representation in the Congress. Instead, their voices have been silenced, and their votes placed on hold, by a speaker who is using them as a bargaining chip in the ongoing government shutdown.
Nobody believes for one moment that if Grijalva’s Republican opponent had won, that person wouldn’t already be a sitting member of Congress. But because the voters of southern Arizona elected a Democrat, Johnson has chosen obstruction over fulfilling his duty as speaker of the House.
This isn’t just an attack on the voters of Arizona’s 7th district. It’s an affront to every American who has a constitutional right to representation in Congress. Let’s be blunt: this is taxation without representation, the very injustice that sparked the American Revolution 250 years ago. Our founders risked everything to ensure that no American would be taxed, governed or subjected to the authority of a government in which they had no voice. And yet, here we are in 2025, watching a speaker of the House deny representation to an entire congressional district because he doesn’t like the outcome of a free and fair election.
That’s why, today, alongside Congresswoman-elect Grijalva, we sued the House of Representatives. Arizona will not beg for its full representation in Congress. We will not sit quietly while 813,000 Arizonans are treated as second-class citizens. Arizona’s right to full representation in Congress is not up for debate, and it is not a pawn for Johnson to use as leverage in his shutdown fight with Democrats. Right now, 813,000 Arizonans have no voice in the House of Representatives. Adelita Grijalva won her election. The people spoke. The results were certified. The paperwork is done. The only thing missing is the oath, an oath that Speaker Johnson has no right to withhold. In a democracy every vote counts, every voice matters and every elected representative — Democrat, Republican or independent — must be seated in Congress. Right now, 813,000 Arizonans who live in the 7th Congressional District have no voice in the House of Representatives and that is an affront to the Constitution we hold dear. Until that error is rectified, Arizona will keep fighting. My message for Speaker Johnson is clear: Respect the will of the voters, seat Adelita Grijalva and let her get to work for the Arizonans who elected her.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes
Kris Mayes is Arizona Attorney General. 
