Democrats plan unusual House floor tactic ahead of shutdown

• "We are being asked to go to the House floor at noon," one House Democrat confirmed to Axios.
• The aim is to highlight that Democrats are on Capitol Hill while Republicans are mostly out of town, according to a senior House Democrat: "We are here en masse, and they are not. We care. They don't."

Zoom in: During the pro forma session, Democrats plan to seek unanimous consent on their proposed bill to both fund the government and expand health care access, according to two sources.

• It is all but certain to be blocked, however, and some Democrats expect Republicans to try to quickly adjourn the session before they can even make their motion.
• "You're going to see that gavel go faster than the speed of light," the senior House Democrat predicted.

The intrigue: Rep-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) aims to be part of the proceedings, but her status as a not-yet member of Congress makes things tricky.

• "We've been debating this," the senior House Democrat said, telling Axios that leadership is not certain that Republicans "will even let her on the floor."

• "She'll probably be in the gallery," the senior lawmaker added.
• Grijalva's delayed swearing in has been the subject of an intense partisan messaging battle, with Democrats accusing Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) of dragging his feet to block a vote on releasing the Epstein files.

The other side: A spokesperson for Johnson told Axios on Monday that the speaker plans to swear Grijalva in when the House returns to session next week.

• Asked about Democrats' plans for the pro forma, the Johnson spokesperson referred to that previous statement.