- Details
- By Levi Rickert
Opinion. When U.S. Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) passed away on March 13, 2025 at the age of 77, Indian Country lost one of its strongest voices in Congress. After more than two decades in Congress, Grijalva championed Native American issues, supporting tribal sovereignty, environmental justice and education equity.
Grijalva’s district, Arizona’s 7th Congressional District — stretching from Tucson to the Phoenix suburbs — is home to the Tohono O’odham Nation, Pascua Yaqui Tribe and Cocopah Tribe. According to 2024 Census estimates, more than 30,000 Native people live in the district.
These tribes, along with more than 800,000 residents, have been left without a representative in Congress for more than six months.
In a special election held Sept. 23, 2025, voters chose Grijalva’s daughter, Adelita Grijalva, 54, to carry on her father’s legacy, which includes his support of Indian country. She won decisively, with 69% of the vote—defeating her Republican opponent by a 40-point margin. Yet, despite this clear electoral mandate, Grijalva has not been sworn in.
The reason? Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) has refused to administer the oath, citing procedural concerns related to the ongoing government shutdown. But observers from across the political spectrum aren’t buying that explanation. Many believe the real motive is political — and personal.
Grijalva’s swearing-in has been tied up in Johnson’s calculations around the House’s razor-thin majority. Her vote would be the 218th and final signature needed to force a vote on a bipartisan discharge petition to release Justice Department files tied to Jeffrey Epstein — the convicted sex offender with powerful associates in both political parties.
Johnson says the delay is “standard practice,” but that claim doesn’t hold up. Members of Congress — Republican and Democrat alike — have been sworn in during recesses and even during pro-forma sessions. The rules, when politically convenient, have been flexible. But now, with a key vote hanging in the balance, the process has suddenly hardened.
Meanwhile, Grijalva says her Capitol Hill office lacks computers. She cannot access the office congressional email system or hire staff. Her district has no voice in Congress.
For Native constituents in Arizona’s 7th District, the absence is especially significant. These communities often face underrepresentation and systemic neglect. To leave them without a representative—after they voted overwhelmingly—is an affront to the values of representative democracy.
Johnson’s delay has the practical effect of protecting members of his party from a politically uncomfortable vote. The bipartisan Epstein petition — led by Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) — seeks to force transparency on a matter that should never have been hidden in the first place. But Johnson, who claims to support transparency, has quietly worked to block the effort.
By withholding Adelita Grijalva’s swearing-in, Johnson preserves the Republican majority by one vote and keeps the petition from triggering a floor vote. It’s a maneuver of convenience—not principle. He insists that the delay has nothing to do with the Epstein files. But the timeline—and the stakes—tell a different story.
This is not about ceremony. It’s about control.
When citizens cast their ballots in a free and fair election, they expect the winner to take office. Period. Delays like this erode trust — not just in a political party, but in democracy itself. What message does it send when a duly elected representative from a border district — who happens to be Latina and Native-serving — is told to wait her turn while Johnson plays procedural games?
Adelita Grijalva said it best: “The people of Southern Arizona have voted clearly, yet more than 812,000 people are still denied their voice in Congress.”
Special elections in Republican-leaning districts have not faced this kind of obstruction. GOP winners have been seated during House recesses or without ceremony. In Grijalva’s case, however, the clock keeps ticking — and so does the silence from Washington.
Adelita Grijalva deserves to be sworn in without delay—not because of who her father was, but because her district voted for her. She earned the trust of her constituents and should be working on their behalf right now.
Johnson’s refusal to seat her amounts to disenfranchisement. It denies representation to hundreds of thousands of Americans — Native and non-Native alike. And it does so in service of political strategy, not constitutional duty.
Every day this delay continues, the House of Representatives becomes less representative. Democracy suffers. Transparency stalls. And the message to voters becomes painfully clear: Your voice matters only when it’s politically convenient.
It’s time for Johnson to stop hiding behind the process and do his job. Swear in Adelita Grijalva. Let the people’s voice be heard. Let her get working on behalf of the Arizona tribes in the 7th congressional district.
Anything less is a betrayal of democracy.
Thayék gde nwéndëmen - We are all related.
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