Johnson Slams Dems Over Grijalva Controversy, Reminds Them of ‘Pelosi Rule’
House Speaker Mike Johnson is pushing back against Democrat outrage over his decision not to immediately seat Arizona Democrat Adelita Grijalva during the ongoing government shutdown, calling the uproar a manufactured distraction aimed at shifting blame for the crisis.
Speaking with The Wall Street Journal’s Kim Strassel, Johnson said Democrats are intentionally fixating on Grijalva’s special election rather than explaining their refusal to negotiate in good faith.
Strassel noted that Grijalva won a September 23 special election to finish the term of her late father, former Rep. Raúl Grijalva, and Democrats are demanding she be sworn in during a short pro forma session rather than when the House reconvenes for actual legislative business.
Johnson said the controversy is entirely contrived.
“It’s total absurdity. What you’re seeing is the art of distractions. It’s a red herring, right?” Johnson said.
According to Johnson, Democrats don’t have a coherent strategy other than demanding massive new spending while the government is shut down, and so they are trying to fuel a symbolic fight instead.
“So the Democrats, they don’t have a leader. They don’t have a platform. They have no policies that they can articulate, and they aren’t even able to say what they want to get out of the shutdown short of their initial counter proposal to spend a trillion and a half new dollars and give 200 billion in healthcare to illegal aliens on the back of U.S. taxpayers among other nonsense. They know we’re not doing that. It wasn’t serious,” Johnson said.
Johnson argued Democrats are panicking because the public increasingly sees them as responsible for the shutdown chaos.
“Because they have none of that and because they know increasingly, the American people are understanding what’s going on here because we’re so consistent in sharing the truth every day, that they’re being blamed rightfully for the chaos that’s ensued,” he said.
He emphasized that Grijalva was elected while Congress was already adjourned, and he has already notified Democrats that she will be sworn in the moment the House officially returns to work.
“I’ve told her, and I’ve told all my Democrat colleagues, I’m happy to administer the oath to her as soon as we get back to legislative session, as soon as Chuck Schumer, and by the way, the two Democrat senators from her state in Arizona, Kelly and Gallegos vote to reopen the government. I’m happy. We’ll do it on the first day we’re back.”
Johnson further noted he is following precedent set by former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, citing the similar case of Rep. Julia Letlow.
“Then-Speaker Pelosi took 25 days to administer her the oath. We didn’t have protests and go doing TikTok videos about it because we understood that’s just the way the process works,” Johnson said.
Democrats have attempted to claim Johnson is blocking Grijalva to prevent her from signing onto a discharge petition involving the release of Jeffrey Epstein documents — a claim Johnson and Republican leadership dismiss as baseless political theater.
For now, seating Grijalva remains stalled until Democrats agree to reopen the government — a standoff that underscores why the shutdown has stretched on: Democrats would rather wage culture war theatrics than negotiate spending responsibly.