WASHINGTON ― An actual debate broke out in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday after two Democratic senators staged a press conference outside the House speaker’s office. Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) summoned reporters so they could blast House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) over the government shutdown and for refusing to swear in fellow Arizona Democrat Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, who won a special election last month to fill her late father’s House seat. Johnson has kept the House out of session since September in an effort to pressure Senate Democrats into voting for a funding bill that passed the House mostly along partisan lines. Senate Democrats have blocked the bill six times.After they talked for a few minutes about how not seating Grijalva could delay a vote on legislation to force the release of the government’s files on the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, Johnson popped out of his office to confront the Democrats.“We’re happy that she got elected. She’s filling her father’s seat. That’s fantastic. We have a long tradition here and a process of how we administer the oath to a member,” Johnson said. “We’re going to do that as soon as we get back to work but we need the lights turned back on so we encourage both of you to go open the government.”Kelly and Gallego are two of the 44 Senate Democrats who’ve refused to vote for a Republican bill to fund the government into November. Republicans have insisted there can be no negotiation over health care, as Democrats have demanded, until Democrats vote to reopen the government. There’s been no sign of progress since the shutdown started eight days ago. Johnson said the House Oversight Committee’s efforts to dig through the Epstein files, per subpoenas to the Justice Department and the Epstein estate, were better than the bipartisan legislation coming up under a discharge petition. “You don’t need an act of Congress for that to happen,” Johnson said of the subpoenas. “Why are you blocking her?” Gallego asked.Johnson insisted he wasn’t blocking Grijalva’s swearing-in. “I know why you’re upset. You’re getting a lot of heat because the government’s closed down,” Johnson said. After a few minutes, Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) joined the dispute, telling the senators to go vote for the House-passed funding bill. “Get your people in. Stop covering up for pedophiles,” Gallego said. “That’s ridiculous,” Johnson said. The fellas were all wagging their fingers at each other. After about five minutes, an aide encouraged Johnson to go back into his office. “That was fun,” Kelly said, not sounding sincere. Later Wednesday, Lawler picked a fight in another congressional hallway with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.). Lawler appeared to be waiting for Jeffries as he walked outside of a press room and, with cameras rolling, he argued with him about health care and the shutdown.Their sniping escalated to the point of Jeffries telling Lawler, “You’re embarrassing yourself right now.” Moments later, he snapped at the Republican congressman for not letting him speak.“You’re not gonna talk to me and talk over me because you don’t wanna hear what I have to say,” Jeffries said. “So why don’t you just keep your mouth shut?”Jen Bendery contributed reporting.Close