Congressional Democrats participated in a protest inside the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday night, during which Democratic California Rep. Nanette Barragán was recorded hounding a Capitol Police officer on duty.
The scene came during a demonstration objecting to the now 22-day delay in the swearing-in of Democratic Arizona Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, who was elected in a special election to replace her late father on Sept. 23. The standoff over the delayed seating has been a flashpoint of tension during the government shutdown, now in its 15th day.
In a video that has been circulating on social media, Barragán and Democratic Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal appear amid a larger group assembled outside of the Speaker’s office who can be heard repeatedly chanting “Swear her in!” Barragán points her finger near the face of a uniformed male Capitol Police officer who in return holds up a hand as the lawmaker seems to accost him, the video shows.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has maintained that he will bring the House back and swear in Grijalva when the government reopens, but Democrats are claiming that Johnson is delaying the congresswoman-elect in an effort to block a discharge petition to compel the release of files related to deceased pedophile sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
“Last night, they played some games. They stormed my office,” Johnson said on Wednesday. “They berated a Capitol Police Officer—screamed at him. He was just merely standing his post.”
“[It] shows again their disdain for law enforcement, as we see all around the country, the Democrats and everyone in that party screaming, assaulting the ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] officers,” Johnson continued. “They did it right here in the Capitol. Last night, a few members of Congress went into the little foyer of my office, and tore down a sign that I had up, and just engaged in all sorts of political stunts and antics.”
Following Tuesday’s demonstration, Grijalva joined the Congressional Hispanic Caucus at a news conference on Wednesday morning to discuss the delay in her swearing in.
“I stand before you as a duly elected representative from Arizona’s seventh congressional district with nearly 70% of the vote and a margin of victory of 440,000 votes,” Grijalva said outside the Capitol. “The people of Southern Arizona have spoken clearly, yet more than 812,000 people are still denied their voice in Congress. This delay is not procedural. It’s intentional.”
“Let’s be clear. Speaker Johnson knows that I will be the 218th signature on the discharge petition for the Epstein files,” she continued. “He is doing everything in his power to shield this administration from accountability. That is not leadership, that is obstruction.”
Democratic New York Representative and Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Adriano Espaillat argued that the delay was equivalent to Arizona voters “being taxed without any representation.”
“What is it? What’s holding it back? Is it the Epstein files? Is that what’s holding it back, that they don’t want America to know?” Espaillat asked. “We are demanding that she be seated in the House of Representatives, and that the 800,000 folks that she represents be given the representation that they deserve.”
Democratic Reps. Greg Stanton and Yassamin Ansari of Arizona, and Gil Cisneros of California echoed similar sentiments, demanding that Mike Johnson, in Ansari’s words, “stop the obstruction and seat Adelita Grijalva, today.”
On Tuesday, Senate Democrats rejected for the eighth time the GOP’s continuing resolution to reopen the government in a standoff that has netted one of the longest government shutdowns in history. With the White House diverting funds last week for troop pay and low-income mothers, the shutdown shows no signs of coming to a close.
Barragán’s office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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