House Speaker Mike Johnson was swiftly fact-checked by ABC's Jonathan Karl after he tried to blame Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi—and what he referred to as the "Pelosi precedent"—for his refusal to swear in Democratic Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva weeks after her election.
Johnson previously dismissed threats of legal action for not swearing in Grijalva, overwhelmingly elected by her constituents several weeks ago, saying the outrage "was a publicity stunt by a Democrat Attorney General in Arizona who sees a national moment and wants to call me out."
Democrats were expected to make another attempt to have her officially sworn in during the brief pro forma session, though Republicans blocked it as they had in previous tries. Critics noted that delaying Grijalva’s swearing-in effectively prevented Democrats from forcing a vote to release the Epstein files, a move Republicans had been obstructing for weeks.
When Karl asked Johnson when Grijalva would be sworn in, Johnson responded by blaming Democrats for the shutdown:
“As soon as we get back to legislative session, when Chuck Schumer allows us to turn the lights back on."
Then Johnson pivoted to blaming Pelosi directly:
“Because this is the way the institution works…I’m following the Pelosi precedent, by the way. When my dear friend from Louisiana, Julia Letlow, was elected to fill the seat of her deceased husband because of COVID, Nancy Pelosi took 25 days to swear her in.”
Johnson stuttered when Karl pushed back with the following:
"Are you saying that Nancy Pelosi refused to swear her in earlier? ... Because my understanding is, that was the date that actually the representative-elect, Letlow, at the time, requested."
When Johnson insisted he had "some examples," Karl said:
"No, no, but wait a minute, you mentioned “the Pelosi precedent.” But Pelosi didn’t delay that. She — she gave the date that —"
And Johnson, when Karl asked, "What about the Johnson precedent?" responded;
"I’m happy to answer. I’m happy to answer. Pelosi precedent: Pat Ryan, Joe Sempolinski. They were elected during an August recess. So, 21 days later, when the House returned to regular legislative session, they were administered the oath. That’s what we’re doing."
"We’re not in session right now. Representative Grijalva was elected after the House was out of session. As soon as we return to legislative session, as soon as the Democrats decide to turn the lights back on so we can all get back here, I will administer the oath of —
Karl said Johnson "could swear her in tomorrow" but Johnson insisted otherwise:
"No, not tomorrow. No, we — we couldn’t. We wouldn’t. There was an exception for two Floridians earlier in this Congress. But the reason was, they were duly elected. They had a date set. They flew in all their friends and family and the House went out of session unexpectedly."
Johnson later insisted "we don't have a date set" to swear in Grijalva because "she was elected after we went out of session."
You can hear what he said in the video below.
Johnson was criticized following the exchange.
Recently, flanked by members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Grijalva remarked that re-entering the Capitol had reminded her she was “essentially a tourist.” Without the official congressional pin that grants lawmakers full access, she said, she couldn’t use special entrances or move freely through the building.
Back home in Arizona, the delay has left her unable to reopen her district office or even update its voicemail, which still features a message recorded by her late father, former Representative Raúl Grijalva, who represented the district for 12 terms. The holdup has also prevented her from beginning formal casework on behalf of constituents, one of the core duties of her position.
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