U.S. Representative Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ) and five other Republican congressmen on Monday sent a letter to Arizona’s two Senators, Democrats Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly, urging them to “do the right thing for Arizona and vote to end this shutdown.”
(The five other Congressmen who signed the letter are Paul Gosar, Eli Crane, Abe Hamadeh, Andy Biggs, and David Schweikert.)
Arizona’s House Republicans are united — and we’re calling on Arizona’s Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego to stop playing politics and prioritize Arizonans.
— Congressman Juan Ciscomani (@RepCiscomani) October 6, 2025
We sent them a letter urging them to do the right thing for Arizona and vote today to end this shutdown.
FULL LETTER… pic.twitter.com/CibLWR9kXy
Standing outside the U.S. Capitol building, Gallego responded via video. As seen below, Gallego waved the letter he received from the House Republicans and said: “Hey Juan, I got your letter, and I talked to you about it but you’re not here because you’re backing up Speaker Mike Johnson to make sure that Adelita Grijalva, your seatmate, doesn’t get sworn in because that would mean all the pedophiles are exposed on the Epstein list, right?”
Note: Arizona Congresswoman-elect Grijalva, who vowed to sign Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie’s petition to vote on the complete release of the Epstein files, won a special election in September and has suggested that MAGA-aligned House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is delaying her swearing in ceremony to avoid the release of the files.
Hey @RepCiscomani, got your letter. Let us know when you’re ready to come back to D.C. and actually work. I'll be here fighting to protect Arizonans' health care. pic.twitter.com/chMeIpOAB9
— Senator Ruben Gallego (@SenRubenGallego) October 7, 2025
Gallego added to his message to Ciscomani: “By the way, while you were gone, Donald Trump, your buddy, cut a big project in your district, a big energy project in your district. It’s going to cost your district money,” and noted that Ciscomani’s vote for the GOP stopgap bill could affect 300,000 Arizona voters who will see their healthcare insurance premiums double as a result, and “a 100,000 of them will lose their insurance” because they can’t afford it.
The energy project Gallego referred to is focused on converting carbon dioxide into products like jet fuel. While a spokesperson for the project said it “was not an active grant” and “does not remove funds from our operations,” others contend the cancellation still affects a future project and potential job growth related to the initiative.
Note: Labor unions representing workers at federal agencies including the EPA are asking the courts to immediately block the Trump administration’s threat to conduct mass layoffs during the government shutdown.
Gallego added to his message to Ciscomani: “Let us know when you’re ready to come back to D.C. and actually work.”
