Rep. Grijalva Faces Pressure to Resign Amid Key Voting Absences

By Staff Reporter |

Residents of Arizona’s seventh congressional district are calling for Congressman Raúl Grijalva to retire, citing his absence from crucial votes this legislative session. According to records from the House Clerk, Grijalva has not participated in any roll call votes since the start of the month, with his last recorded vote being for Hakeem Jeffries as House Speaker earlier this January.

Critics point to Grijalva’s calls for former President Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2020 presidential race as a stark contrast to his present inactivity. Data reveals that his last votes occurred in November 2024 during the previous Congressional session. In that session, Grijalva registered as “not voting” in nearly 40 roll call votes.

Though a member of the Education and Workforce and Natural Resources committees, Grijalva relinquished his leadership role in the latter last month. A congressional member since 2003, he has faced scrutiny for missing approximately 480 out of 490 votes since mid-February of the previous year, equating to 97% of voting opportunities.

This absence is primarily linked to Grijalva’s lung cancer diagnosis announced last April. Despite ongoing cancer treatments, he has stated his intention to seek re-election for one final term. Reports from Cronkite News revealed that Grijalva had not voted for several months prior to his diagnosis, which contributed to the staggering number of missed votes.

Despite the criticism, Grijalva downplayed his absence. In an interview with KOLD, he remarked that his missed votes were inconsequential, attributing the situation to the current Republican leadership and labeling the present Congress as among the least effective in a century.

Since the start of this session, Grijalva has missed 25 critical votes on 19 pieces of legislation, including House Resolutions covering issues from women’s sports to disaster assistance coordination. This trend of non-participation has led to increasing dissatisfaction among his constituents.