Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) on Tuesday threatened legal action if Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) delays swearing in Democratic Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva (Ariz.).

“It’s way past time for Mike Johnson to stop the political games and seat Adelita without delay. Today, my office is sending a letter to Speaker Johnson demanding he do so,” Mayes said in a statement on Tuesday. “We are keeping every option open to us, including litigation, to hold him accountable and make sure that Adelita is able to begin her work as Arizona’s newest member of Congress.”

Grijalva won a special election on Sept. 23 for the Arizona seat that was long held by her father, the late Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.). But despite decisively winning the seat, she has not yet been sworn in. 

Johnson has canceled weeks of previously scheduled votes and kept the House in recess amid the government shutdown as he aims to pressure Senate Democrats into accepting the GOP-crafted, House-passed “clean” stopgap bill to fund the government through Nov. 21. 

He has declined to swear Grijalva in during the brief “pro forma” sessions that the chamber holds for constitutional appointment reasons, and he has said he will swear in Grijalva when the House is back in regular session — reiterating the position in a statement in response to Mayes on Tuesday.

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