By Scott Wong | NBC News
More than seven weeks after her special election victory, Arizona Democrat Adelita Grijalva stood on the House floor and took the oath of office Wednesday, marking the end of a bitter standoff with GOP Speaker Mike Johnson, who had refused to seat her during the record government shutdown.
Johnson swore Grijalva in as the House opened Wednesday afternoon to applause from both sides of the aisle.
“Congratulations, you are now a member of Congress,” he said.
Grijalva’s swearing-in shrinks the GOP majority to 219-214, where just three Republican defections can derail any piece of legislation Johnson brings to the floor.
Grijalva’s Sept. 23 landslide victory to replace her late father, the progressive leader Rep. Raul Grijalva, generated few national headlines. But in recent weeks, Democrats publicly clashed with Johnson — in news conferences, staged protests and a face-to-face impromptu meeting outside his office — as they tried to pressure him to administer the oath of office to Grijalva. Arizona’s state attorney general sued the House to try to force Johnson to take action.
