Congressional Hispanic Caucus Welcomes Rep. Adelita Grijalva

Fifty days after her election, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) held a news conference to welcome newly sworn-in Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ). Chair Espaillat expressed frustration with the delay, calling it illegal and unprecedented, and he called for a vote on the release of documents related to convicted financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) had declined to swear in the Arizona Democrat while he kept the House out of session during the 43-day government shutdown, which ended that evening. Democrats, however, claimed that Speaker Johnson refused to swear in Ms. Grijalva in order to prevent her from signing a petition that would force a vote for the release of the Epstein files.