It seems weird that with a looming government shutdown Mike Johnson has adjourned the House. But they have reasons:
Democratic congresswoman-elect Adelita Grijalva has arrived on Capitol Hill…Speaker Mike Johnson hasn’t sworn her into the House yet, though she was elected on Sept. 23 to succeed her father, the late Rep. Raúl Grijalva, in Arizona’s 7th District. And the looming possibility that the government shuts down at midnight would almost certainly make her entry into Congress even more complicated.
[…]
“The Speaker’s Office intends to schedule a swearing in for the Representative-elect when the House returns to session,” the spokesperson said.
That could be weeks or months. You’d think the Republicans would at least stay in town even if just to whine to the press about how the Democrats are creating havoc. But that’s not the only thing on Johnson’s agenda:
House Democrats are already speculating that there are ulterior motives behind the delays in Grijalva’s swearing in.
Her election puts the spotlight back on Republican Rep. Thomas Massie’s discharge petition to compel the Justice Department to release documents pertaining to Jeffrey Epstein. Massie told reporters last week that Grijalva has promised to sign the petition.
I don’t think any speaker has just refused to swear in a new member of the opposite party before because … things. Maybe they have. But I think we can safely assume that it isn’t common.
They’ll do anything to avoid releasing those Epstein files.