President Donald Trump ripped into Democratic Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar on Sunday after the lawmaker said he will seek reelection as part of the Democratic Party despite Trump pardoning him and his wife, Imelda.
Cuellar said Wednesday he will seek reelection as a Democrat, confirming the decision just hours after Trump pardoned him and his wife. In a Sunday post on Truth Social, Trump said Democrats during the Biden administration spent years trying to destroy Cuellar and his family through what he described as aggressive and politically motivated prosecutions.
“Can you imagine??? The Democrats, under the Crooked Joe Biden Administration, who always use extreme force and jail-time to destroy their political opponent, wanted to put Congressman Henry Cuellar, and his wife, Imelda, in PRISON, for 15 years, which I predicted these Radical Left Lunatics would do,” Trump wrote. “And they never stopped wanting to fulfill this evil quest! The Dems mercilessly went after Henry with everything they had!”
Trump said Democrats viciously targeted Cuellar and his family long after losing the 2024 election.
“They were looking to destroy him, his lovely wife, his two young daughters, and anyone close to them. When the Democrats overwhelmingly lost the 2024 Presidential Election, and power with it, they, regardless, did everything they could to keep going after the Cuellar family. The Dems were vicious, and all because Henry strongly wanted, correctly, BORDER SECURITY! He was against illegals pouring into our Country, totally unchecked and unvetted.”
Trump said he felt confident at the time he had done the right thing, describing the pardon as potentially life-saving for a family he said had been “tormented by very sick and deranged people.” He also said he left the Oval Office convinced the decision served both fairness and principle.
“Congressman Henry Cuellar announced that he will be ‘running’ for Congress again, in the Great State of Texas (a State where I received the highest number of votes ever recorded!), as a Democrat, continuing to work with the same Radical Left Scum that just weeks before wanted him and his wife to spend the rest of their lives in Prison,” Trump concluded. “And probably still do! Such a lack of LOYALTY, something that Texas Voters, and Henry’s daughters, will not like. Oh’ [sic] well, next time, no more Mr. Nice guy!”
Cuellar said he considers himself a conservative Democrat who works across party lines and supports Trump’s success.
“I’m a conservative Democrat, and I work across the lines, and I want to see the president succeed. President Trump, and it’s good for the country, and I will work with anybody,” Cuellar noted. “We might have some differences, but if I can work with them, I will work with President Trump.”
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Trump announced Wednesday he issued full pardons to Cuellar and his wife, who had been charged by the Biden administration’s Justice Department over alleged bribery and were not scheduled to face trial until 2026.
“Sleepy Joe went after the Congressman, and even the Congressman’s wonderful wife, Imelda, simply for speaking the TRUTH,” Trump wrote.
Federal prosecutors accused Cuellar and his wife of taking about $600,000 from Azerbaijani officials and a Mexican financial institution between 2014 and 2021. In exchange, Cuellar used his congressional office to advance Azerbaijan’s interests, allegations the couple has repeatedly denied. Cuellar, who has represented his heavily Hispanic South Texas district since 2005, remained in his House seat throughout the case.
Cuellar, a self-described centrist, has consistently clashed with Democratic leadership over border policy, criticized former President Joe Biden’s approach to immigration, and called out those in his party who opposed the deportation of an alleged MS-13 member earlier this year. He also supported several Republican-backed measures, including legislation targeting migrant crime and protecting women’s sports, and broke ranks again in November when he backed a bipartisan plan to reopen the government to end its 2025 shutdown.
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