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By Mandy Taheri and Hannah Parry
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Arizona Senate Democrats Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego clashed with House Speaker Mike Johnson in the Capitol's hallways on Wednesday over the swearing-in of Democratic Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva.
Newsweek reached out to Kelly via email on Wednesday. Johnson and Gallego's press teams pointed to their respective comments in the circulating videos.
Why It Matters
On September 23, Grijalva won the congressional seat left vacant by her father, the late Raul Grijalva, who died at the age of 77 in March during cancer treatment. He had held the seat for more than two decades.
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Johnson vowed Tuesday to swear in the congresswoman "as soon as she wants," but he has since flip-flopped, saying she would not be sworn in until her party agrees to end the government shutdown.
Democrats argue that Johnson is dragging his feet getting Grijalva sworn in because she will sign a petition forcing a vote on releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files. Once sworn in, Grijalva’s electoral victory means the Republicans' majority in the House will now be 219 to 214, making it slightly easier for Democrats to force a vote on the Epstein files by signing a petition on the matter.
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What To Know
Kelly and Gallego were answering press questions in the Capitol hallway when Johnson walked out, and the three shook hands. The senators sought clarification from Johnson on the delay of Grijalva's swearing-in, noting that it keeps getting pushed back.
Johnson told the senators, "We're happy that she got elected, she's filling her father's seat, we have a long tradition here and a process for how we administer the oath to a member."
He emphasized that the government needs to reopen for the matter to move forward, saying, "we're gonna do that as soon as we get back to work, but we need the lights turned back on, so we encourage both of you to go open the government."
Gallego confronted Johnson, saying, "How much of this is actually you don't want her to be on the Epstein [petition]?" adding, "you just keep coming up with excuses. This is an excuse so that she doesn't sign on to that."
Johnson replied that Gallego's accusation is "absurd," stating, “This has nothing to do with Epstein." Gallego added later, "Why are you blocking her then?" to which Johnson replied, "I'm not blocking her."
Later, Representative Mike Lawler, a New York Republican, called out the Democratic lawmakers for having "voted multiple times to keep the government shutdown." He added, "You guys just keep on pontificating."
The petition was filed in September by Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie. It calls for a vote on a bill, written by Massie and California Democrat Ro Khanna, which would require the Justice Department to release the Epstein files within 30 days.
Grijalva, who has said she would sign the petition, would be the 218th member to sign it, which would force a vote on the matter. The petition is missing one signature.
Earlier in September, the House Oversight Committee publicly released 33,295 pages of documents related to Epstein, including flight logs, court filings and emails; however, the move did not halt many from pushing for more transparency.
What People Are Saying
Senator Ruben Gallego, on X: "Ran into Speaker Johnson and told him exactly how I feel about Republicans shutting down the government to protect pedophiles and jack up health care costs for 24 million Americans."
Representative Robert Garcia, on X: "Americans agree that Trump and the DOJ should release the Epstein files. Speaker Johnson knows this, which is why he refuses to call Congress back into session. Unlike House Republicans, I’m in DC this week demanding an end to the shutdown and a full release of the files."
Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva said in a September 30 statement sent to Newsweek: "Earlier this year, two Republicans in Florida were sworn in during pro forma sessions less than 24 hours after their elections. The fact that Southern Arizona is being treated differently raises serious questions about political motivations – especially since I have pledged to become the 218th signature on the discharge petition to force a vote on the Epstein files."
Representative Juan Ciscomani, an Arizona Republican, on X: "Complete publicity stunt by Senators Kelly and Gallego. Asking questions and then not letting Speaker Johnson speak because they didn’t like the answer. What an embarrassment to Arizona. Do your job and vote to end the shutdown."
What Happens Next
The government shutdown is in its 8th day.
At one point during the encounter, Kelly asked Johnson, "Why don't you bring back your Republican members so we can have a serious negotiation with them?"
He later added, "if you bring them back, we will have a discussion, it's very simple."
Update 10/8/25, 3:54 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
Update 10/8/25, 4:19 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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