Top Congressman Warns Mike Johnson May Never Swear in Newly Elected Democrats: ‘It Is a Dictatorship’
A top House Democrat is sounding the alarm over what he calls an unprecedented abuse of power by Speaker Mike Johnson, accusing him of turning Congress into a “dictatorship” by refusing to swear in a duly elected Democratic member.
Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ) is still waiting to be seated, weeks after winning her election in a solidly blue district. The delay? Speaker Johnson hasn’t scheduled a pro-forma session to swear her in—despite doing exactly that for two Republicans under similar circumstances earlier this year.
Speaking bluntly to Raw Story, former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) didn’t mince words.
“It is a dictatorship,” Hoyer said. “You cannot do that. The people of Arizona elected her by a very substantial vote. And he won’t swear her in!”
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He then posed a chilling hypothetical: “This business of not swearing in a member of Congress. What if he decided in the next Congress, he’s an elected Speaker, and then he decides not to swear in 25% of our people?”
That’s not a minor bureaucratic concern—Hoyer is warning of a slippery slope toward one-man rule.
While Democrats are raising hell over the snub, many Republicans seem either indifferent or willfully ignorant.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) gave a curt “Nope” when asked if he knew about Grijalva’s situation. Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) replied with a blank “Who?” and added, “They’re not in session.”
That’s not the whole story. In fact, Congress has sworn in members during pro-forma sessions before—including two Republicans from Florida under this very same Congress. When pressed on that, Scott shrugged it off: “I don’t know. I can’t imagine there’s any politics involved.”
That statement, too, is tough to take at face value.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) called it out for what she sees it as—voter suppression, plain and simple.
“The people of her district are being denied representation,” Warren said. “The speaker of the House is too frightened to swear her in. That’s not how democracy works. There was an election. The election has been certified. She needs to be sworn in.”
Back in Arizona, the state’s congressional delegation is fired up. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), who has been front and center in pushing for Grijalva’s seating, revealed that Speaker Johnson had previously promised to swear in whoever won the race—“as soon as they wished.” That promise, it seems, is now dead.
So what changed?
All signs point to a discharge petition—one vote shy of forcing a floor vote to make the Justice Department release documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. If Grijalva were seated, the math shifts—and Johnson loses control over keeping the issue bottled up.
Kelly made no effort to hide the connection.
“He should embrace the term rip off the bandaid,” Kelly said, making it clear that Johnson’s delay won’t hold forever. “Just get it done and over with.”
Democrats see this as bigger than one seat or one petition. They’re calling it a stress test for the entire democratic process. When a Speaker of the House—arguably the second-most powerful person in the federal government—can simply decide not to swear in elected officials from the opposing party, what checks are left?
For now, the voters of Arizona’s 7th District remain voiceless in the House of Representatives—not because of a contested election, not because of a legal challenge, but because Speaker Mike Johnson won’t hold the Bible.
