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About a fifth of the agency's remaining staff was affected, including employees working on special education, funding for low-income students and civil rights enforcement.
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Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva, who won a special election for a House seat in Arizona two weeks ago, has still not been sworn in to Congress. Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is blaming the government shutdown for the delay, even though he previously expedited the swearing-in of multiple Republicans who won their special elections before election results were even in. It's more likely, say supporters, that Grijalva is being held up to prevent what she has pledged will be her first act in Congress: adding her name to and thus triggering a vote on California Congressmember Ro Khanna's bill for the public release of files related to the federal investigation of sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. "She needs to get sworn in today," says Khanna, adding that every day Grijalva is not seated in the House "is breaking precedent and depriving people of who they voted for." Grijalva says, "This is an incredibly scary precedent to set. If you don't agree with the politics of the speaker, then they can keep you out of your duly elected office."
Khanna and Grijalva also discuss the legacy of Grijalva's late father, the longtime Arizona Congressmember Raúl Grijalva; the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration; right-wing attacks on freedom of the press; and more.
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