Mike Johnson, the Spress of the US House, is expected to swear in the Democratic Representative legislator on Wednesday who prevented the suspension of a vote in a vote that released the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Johnson’s office announced Grijalva will take the oath of office at around 4pm in the House, ahead of a vote to reopen the federal government. The ceremony comes 49 days after Grielalva won a late September special election to succeed his father, longtime congressman Rijalva, who died in March.
Grijalva’s arrival was more than a narrowly adjusted Republican majority. He promised to be the 218th and final signatory In a petition to dismiss That would automatically trigger a House vote on the Justice Department’s request for more files on the dead sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Already on Wednesday morning, House oversight Democrats released “never-before-seen” Epstein emails that mention Trump, including a 2011 message to Ghislaine Maxwell in which Epstein wrote that Trump “spent hours at my house” with a sex trafficking victim, calling Trump a “dog that hasn’t barked”.
A 2019 Email to Author Michael Wolff states “of course [Trump] knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop. “
But lawmakers say many more files remain sealed, now leaving questions about Epstein’s network that will force the House to answer.
The petition, introduced by Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie and California Congressman Ro Khanna in early September, requires a signature to force a vote under house rules. Support came from Democrats, although Republican representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert and Nancy Mace also signed on.
Democrats accused Johnson of blocking the swearing-in of Grijalva — specifically preventing the Epstein vote. Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona said that Johnson “contains pedophiles.”
If the Epstein legislation clears the House, it still needs Senate approval. But the vote itself will force lawmakers to make an uncomfortable choice between voters demanding transparationes of Epstein pushing for a deep investigation.
Epstein, a financier with connections to many profiled figures, including Trump, died in Coyal Custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide.
While the previous releases of the document detailed some of his colleagues, the legislators argued that a significant transformation of the information remained sealed in the justice files.
Johnson kept the house out of session after Griilva’s victory as part of a strategy to pressure Democrats in the Senate to vote to reopen the government in the government shutdown in the government shutdown in the government shutdown in the government shutdown in the government shutdown in the government shutdown in the government shutdown in the government shutdown in the government shutdown in the government shutdown in the government shutdown. The Republican Speaker admitted that he will not lead the oath while the chambers remain inactive, even Grijalva won the week before The shutdown begins and there is no such rule in the house that prohibits the swearing in of newly elected members during the recess.
Democrats have widely rejected Johnson’s explanation, which was found in a 180-signature letter that he swore in two Florida Republicans earlier this year while the house was empty. Arizona’s Democratic Attorney General, Kris Mayes, Filed a case Last month, Johnson sought to force the seat of Molijalva.
Johnson defended his actions by claiming that he followed the first set by first speaker Nancy Pelosi, which he said delayed similar ceremonies for Republicans. He suggested his decision had nothing to do with avoiding an explosive vote on documents related to Epstein from his long-term social relationship with Epstein.
Talking to CNN on TuesdayGriilva said he planned to confront Johnson directly about the delay, calling the abstention “undemocratic” and “illegal”.
“This kind of obstacle will not happen again,” he said.