Grijalva, an Arizona Democrat who won a special election in September, says Johnson is playing politics with the delay.

The U.S. House of Representatives was set to meet Friday for a pro forma legislative session amid the three-week government shutdown, and Democrats say there's a pressing piece of business — to swear in Adelita Grijalva.

Grijalva, from Arizona, won a special election more than three weeks ago, but has yet to take the oath of office.

Democrats say House Speaker Mike Johnson is unusually delaying her entry because she could cast a crucial vote related to bipartisan demands for more transparency about investigations into Jeffrey Epstein, the late child sex offender who associated with Donald Trump for several years.

Who is Adelita Grijalva?

A lifelong Arizona native, she's worked as a program director for a juvenile court in Pima Country and served in elected positions on local school and political boards. Grijalva, 54, is married with three children.

Grijalva made the leap to federal politics to run for Arizona's 7th Congressional District, which had been left vacant after this year's cancer-related death of her father, Raul, who had served in Congress for more than 20 years.

She won the special election held on Sept. 23 in the district, gaining 69 per cent of the vote over her Republican opponent.

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