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Newly sworn-in Rep. Adelita Grijalva entered Congress this week after one of the longest swearing-in delays in modern history.
Grijalva, who now represents Arizona’s 7th District, spent more than seven weeks waiting for House leadership to seat her.
When she finally took the oath, she used her first primetime moment on the House floor to talk about the Epstein files.
Her speech came less than 48 hours after the government reopened following a shutdown that lasted more than 40 days—the second-longest federal shutdown in U.S. history.
During that period, federal workers went without paychecks, military families faced delays in housing allowances, small businesses struggled to access SBA services, and border communities—including those in her own district—experienced major disruptions in federal support.
Instead of using her introduction to Congress to address those tangible, immediate issues, Grijalva focused almost entirely on Jeffrey Epstein.
To be clear, releasing the full Epstein files is an important goal. Transparency matters, and the public deserves clarity about who enabled Epstein and how a system designed to protect vulnerable children instead protected powerful men.
But taking this issue and elevating it above everything else—especially after the Democrat Party helped trigger a shutdown that harmed millions of Americans—shows exactly where their priorities are.
Democrats spent the last month insisting the shutdown was a “principled stand,” despite the fact that it froze federal courts, stalled veterans’ services, halted passport processing, and undermined national security.
The same party that could not keep the government open now wants Americans to believe their sudden focus on Epstein is about justice, rather than political distraction.
The reality is straightforward: Democrats have an unpopular platform right now.
They have no coherent economic plan, no border policy that reflects the crisis communities are living through, and no message that resonates with working-class voters who are exhausted by inflation and federal dysfunction.
So instead, they are turning to a topic that lets them posture without offering solutions.
Again, the Epstein files should be released—fully, without redactions, and without political filtering.
But voters can see the difference between real governance and opportunistic messaging.
Grijalva represents a district dealing with border insecurity, rising living costs, and federal instability caused by the shutdown.
Her first act in office wasn’t to talk about inflation, border security, jobs, or the shutdown her own party prolonged. It was to lean into a political talking point that Democrats hope will distract from their record.
America deserves transparency. It also deserves leaders who can govern. Rep. Grijalva’s first speech showed which one Democrats claim value more—and it wasn’t governing.
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