House Speaker Mike Johnson struggled to justify his failure to swear in a new Democratic House member when pressed on the subject in a Sunday ABC News interview.
Johnson argued repeatedly that he’d seat Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) when the House was back in legislative session, even though he’s previously sworn in Republican members when the lower chamber was out of session.
It’s an inconsistency that ABC reporter Jonathan Karl called out during the interview, prompting Johnson to grasp for an explanation.
“You could swear her in tomorrow, right?” Karl asked pointedly.
“No, not tomorrow, no, we couldn’t, we wouldn’t,” Johnson said. “There was an exception for two Floridians earlier in this Congress. But the reason was they were duly elected. They had a date set. They flew in all their friends and family and the House went out of session unexpectedly.”
