Overview
- Speaker Mike Johnson will administer Adelita Grijalva’s oath at the Capitol at 4 p.m. ET, just before the House takes votes to reopen the government for the first time in 54 days.
- Grijalva has waited nearly seven weeks since her Sept. 23 special-election win, as Democrats accused Johnson of blocking her seating while he argued the House had not been in legislative session, leaving roughly 813,000 constituents without a sworn representative.
- Once seated, Grijalva is expected to add the decisive 218th signature to the Thomas Massie–Ro Khanna discharge petition to require release of unclassified Justice Department records related to Jeffrey Epstein.
- Under House rules, a successful discharge petition must wait seven legislative days before a motion can be called, making an early December vote possible if the timeline holds.
- Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes’ lawsuit seeking to compel Grijalva’s seating remains pending even as the oath proceeds, and her arrival will shift the House lineup to 219 Republicans and 214 Democrats with two vacancies.