Overview
- Grijalva’s seating ended a roughly seven-week hold that left about 813,000 Arizonans without full representation, a delay she and Arizona’s attorney general criticized as an abuse of the speaker’s power while Mike Johnson cited House custom.
- With the House back in session following the shutdown, Johnson has indicated a vote on the Epstein records measure could come as soon as next week.
- House Democrats the same day publicized newly released Epstein emails alleging President Donald Trump “knew about the girls,” as two survivors, Elizabeth Stein and Jess Michaels, watched from the gallery.
- In her first floor remarks, Arizona’s first Latina and self-described first Chicana member code-switched between English and Spanish and outlined priorities including immigration, public schools, tribal sovereignty, veterans’ issues and LGBTQ+ rights.
- Even if the House advances the measure, it still faces long odds in the Senate and the possibility of a presidential veto, underscoring the procedural step’s significance without guaranteeing broader release.