Grijalva blames delay in taking CD 7 office on GOP fear of Epstein files

Democrat Adelita Grijalva, who won the special election to replace her father in Congressional District 7, flew to Washington, D.C., Sunday night, but she still did not have any idea when she might be seated.

“We still don’t know,” Grijalva said while driving to Phoenix to catch a red-eye flight to D.C.

She planned to meet with the Democratic caucus on Monday evening.

Grijalva pointed out that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) swore in other members of Congress who won special elections right after their districts voted, without waiting for official results or final vote counts.

But she’s heard that Johnson might delay allowing her to take the oath of office until her election has been legally canvassed in mid-October.

Monday afternoon, Grijalva updated the Sentinel, saying she still hadn’t been provided information about being sworn in.

Grijalva said she believed that the delay stemmed from her announcement that she would be the 218th member of Congress to sign onto a discharge petition that would force a vote on legislation to force the release of the so-called “Epstein files”—records related to the the notorious financier, who died in New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Center in 2019 shortly after he was arrested on sex trafficking charges.

The New York Medical Examiner and Federal Bureau of Prisons ruled Esptein’s death a suicide but that has been met with public skepticism. President Donald Trump said during his campaign that he would “probably” release the files but has since backtracked, saying on Truth Social earlier this year that his supporters should “not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about.”

So far, the files released from the Justice Department have mostly been documents that were already public.

Legislation in the House of Representatives to force the release of records related to Epstein has stalled, but a discharge petition would force Johnson to allow a vote on the House floor.

“Why are the rules so different for me?” Grijalva said. “I mean, objectively, if you’re trying to say it has nothing to do with the Epstein files, okay, great. Then what is the issue?”

While the election won’t be formally settled until Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes canvasses the Sept. 23 election on Oct. 14, Grijalva had captured 69 percent of the vote against Republican Daniel Butierez as of Monday. (Election officials estimate only 184 votes remained to be counted as of Monday morning, although that figure did not include any outstanding ballots from Cochise County, which had not reported on its ballot progress.)

The delay in seating Grijalva – which could become more complicated if there’s a government shutdown beginning on Oct. 1 because Republicans and Democrats could not agree on a spending plan – does not just affect her ability to vote when Congress is scheduled to return from its current recess on Oct. 7. 

She also can’t open an office in Tucson or Washington and she can’t hire staff.

Grijalva told the Sentinel she already had some plans to hire Ruben Reyes, who served as Grijalva’s district director for years, is staying on as a senior advisor.

Her chief of staff will be Marisol Flores-Aguirre, who most recently served as director of Gov. Katie Hobbs’ Southern Arizona office. 

Carlos Martinez, who previously worked as an executive assistant in Raúl Grijalva’s congressional office, will be her deputy chief of staff.

Glenn Miller, a top aide to the late Democrat dating to his days on the Pima County Board of Supervisors, will stick around the office to help with the transition but plans to retire in a couple of months, according to Grijalva.