Journalists’ Roundtable: Grijalva swearing in and Epstein files

Nov. 14, 2025

Grijalva Sworn into Office

Hansen: “This felt like it was hung up forever… in the end, the end of the shutdown sort of precipitated what we had all expected for a while now.”

Duda: “She gets sworn in and, the second she’s done, she’s the deciding vote, the 218th signature on this petition. That may be one of the most memorable moments of her career.”

Hansen: “If you’d just sworn her in at the start, this would’ve been a pro forma moment. Instead, you’ve turned her into a symbol and given her a national spotlight.”

Small: “She comes in now with a higher profile than she had before… the progressive movement really sees her as a way to get points on the board.”

Duda: “People in other states might not know who Schweikert or Gallego are, but they know who Adelita Grijalva is now.”

Epstein Files

Duda: “The House hasn’t really been in business for two months… but it’s hard to see anything other than the Epstein files as the sun around which all of this was orbiting.”

Small: “For five years, Republicans and the MAGA base have been telling their voters these files need to be released. A lot of those folks don’t fully appreciate just how entwined Donald Trump is going to be in those documents.”

Hansen: “Clearly the president does not want this information out there. But the center of gravity on this issue has moved away from him, even among his own supporters.”

Small: “Every time more transcripts or documents come out, the news has never gotten better for Donald Trump. I don’t see that trend changing.”

Duda: “I don’t see a path to overriding a veto. The bigger question is what happens in the Senate, that’s where Trump will really try to stop this.”

Kelly, Gallego Vote on Reopening Government

Duda: “Drawing a line on ACA subsidies is probably popular with a lot of their base… I don’t know that voting against this will offend the general public, given how much people’s premiums are on the line.”

Small: “Just enough Democrats peeled off to make a deal happen. That lets the rest hold to what they see as a principled position while avoiding a shutdown that drags through Thanksgiving.”

Hansen: “I don’t see any winners here, to be clear. The closest thing Democrats got was putting these insurance subsidies on the radar for a lot of folks.”

Small: “Public polling shows most voters are blaming Donald Trump and Republicans for the shutdown. On balance, Democrats come out ahead even if they didn’t ‘win’ anything tangible.”

Mitchell vs. GOP Leaders

Small: “Kris Mayes is in a politically interesting place, she’s a Democrat, but she’s also got Warren Petersen running to unseat her, so she’s getting pressure from both directions on this Sunshine case.”

Small: “Politically, the more straightforward path is for Rachel Mitchell at the county level. Whether the county attorney is the right venue is another question, but it’s an easier posture for her than for Mayes.”

Hansen: “Republican leaders at the Legislature are very happy to have this in front of them. Nothing that’s happened so far has credibly put this behind the governor, and they’re not going to let it go before November.”

Small: “If the House launches a committee and a formal investigation, I’d expect that to still be going when voters are casting ballots.”

Sunshine Residential Homes and Governor

Duda: “Sunshine had already asked for a rate increase and been denied. After giving hundreds of thousands to the governor’s inaugural committee and the state Democratic Party, suddenly that decision gets revisited.”

Duda: “Career staff inside DCS raised red flags, they worried about the budget hit and about treating this provider differently from others who were also asking for increases and being told no.”

Hansen: “From afar, this is exactly what the public hates. It looks like pay-for-play, and it’s the kind of thing Governor Hobbs really didn’t need heading into an election year.”

Small: “What we learned this week is that the people involved in the process were very aware of those contributions and were talking about them in emails. You don’t yet see a direct order from the governor, but the appearance alone is a big problem.”

Hansen: “On a scale of 1 to 10 for how big this is in the governor’s race, I’d put it at an eight. It’s the most substantive thing Republicans can say Katie Hobbs owns all by herself.”

Biggs Says He’ll Vote to Release Epstein Files

Duda: “It’s important to remember Andy Biggs never signed the discharge petition when it still needed Republican support, but now that it’s over the threshold, he’s saying he’ll vote for release.”

Small: “I thought it was really surprising. Biggs has been one of Trump’s staunchest allies, head to the mat for him, and now he’s breaking with the president on something Trump has clearly opposed.”

Hansen: “He probably feels he has more room to maneuver than someone like Karen Taylor Robson. His conservative and pro-Trump record is long enough that he can afford to cross Trump here in a way his opponents can’t.”

Small: “This puts pressure on everyone else in that GOP governor’s primary. Schweikert, Robson, anybody who wants to be competitive is going to have to answer, ‘How would you vote on the Epstein files?’”