Washington DC - Newly elected Arizona Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva became the final signature needed to move forward with a petition for the House to vote on whether to release the files on notorious sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

On Wednesday, Grijalva was finally sworn into office after House Speaker Mike Johnson delayed the moment for weeks, using the government shutdown, which came to an end earlier this week after over 40 days.

Grijalva signed the petition immediately after, becoming the 218th and final signature needed to move the effort forward.

The petition – led by Democratic Representative Ro Khanna of California and Republican Thomas Massie of Kentucky – seeks to force a House vote to release all the files related to Epstein, which President Donald Trump and his administration have refused to do, despite repeatedly promising to.

US politics White House says October inflation and jobs data will "likely never" be released

Before casting her signature, Grijalva gave her very first congressional speech. In it, she brought up the bombshell emails released earlier in the day, which appeared to show that Trump – who was close friends with Epstein for decades – may have known more about Epstein's crimes than he has claimed.

"Just this morning, House Democrats released more emails showing that Trump knew more about Epstein's abuses than he previously acknowledged," Grijalva said. "It's about time for Congress to restore its role as a check and balance on this administration and fight for 'we, the American people.'"

"Justice cannot wait another day," she added.

According to The Hill, the House vote could happen in early December at the soonest, but it will face an uphill battle as it is expected to be rejected by the Republican-controlled Senate or by President Trump himself, if it makes it to his desk.

Nonetheless, Trump, who has long pushed the narrative that the Epstein scandal is a "hoax" made up by Democrats, appears to be shaken up by the advancement of the effort.

The president has reportedly been putting pressure on Congresswomen Lauren Boebert and Nancy Mace, two of the only four Republicans who also signed the petition, to withdraw their support.

Following the release of the bombshell emails on Wednesday, Trump shared a Truth Social post arguing that "only a very bad, or stupid, Republican" would fall for the Epstein "trap."