Arizona Democrat needed to force vote on Epstein files to be sworn-in

This March 28, 2017 photo, provided by the New York State Sex Offender Registry, shows Jeffrey Epstein. (New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP, File)

After weeks of delay, congresswoman-elect Adelita Grijalva will be sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday, where the Arizona Democrat is expected to force a vote on the release of the Epstein files.

Democrats who have been demanding the release of investigative files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein gained Grijalva’s crucial vote when she won her seat in Arizona on Sept. 23, but she was not sworn in before the federal government shutdown began Oct. 1.

On Oct. 9, Grijalva accused House Speaker Mike Johnson -- a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump -- of “delaying my swearing in to avoid releasing the Epstein files,” she said in a post on X.

“After seven weeks of waiting, I almost can’t believe it’s true,” Grijalva said in a video posted to X on Monday, confirming her plans to travel to D.C. and join Congress.

Once sworn in, Grijalva has pledged to join a bipartisan effort in Congress to force a vote on ordering the U.S. Justice Department to publicly release the investigative files related to Epstein, who died in custody before his trial on new sex trafficking charges.

At a news conference Tuesday, U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Grijalva had not been sworn in sooner “because Republicans are running a pedophile protection program. They are intentionally hiding the Jeffrey Epstein files.”

Jeffries added that Grijalva’s first act would be to sign a discharge petition to give Americans “the transparency they deserve.”

Grijalva beat Republican Daniel Butierez with nearly 69 per cent of the vote in Arizona’s 7th congressional district in a special election to fill the seat vacated after her father, congressman Raul Grijalva, died in March 2025.

Earlier this year, a congressional panel investigating Epstein’s sex crimes released a lewd birthday letter that Trump allegedly sent to Epstein in 2003, which the president and White House have refuted.

Epstein, a wealthy financier with powerful connections including Trump and other international leaders, was found dead in his New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for alleged sex trafficking of underage girls.