Donald Trump is furious that Rep. Henry Cuellar is running again as a Democrat instead of changing parties after pardoning the Texas congressman and his wife in a federal bribery and conspiracy case.
Trump blasted Cuellar for having “such a lack of loyalty,” suggesting the Republican president may be hoping clemency will solidify the party’s slim majority in the House heading into the 2026 midterm elections.
Following Trump’s social media posts, Cuellar said in a television interview on Sunday that he was a conservative Democrat willing to work with the administration “to see where we can find common ground.” The congressman said he was in church that morning praying for the president and the presidency “because if the president succeeds, the country succeeds.”
Cuellar cited a Texas politician, the late President Lyndon Johnson, who was, in that order, an American, a Texan and a Democrat. “I think anyone who puts party over country is doing a disservice to their country,” he told Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures.”
Trump noted on his Truth social platform that Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration brought charges against Cuellar and that the congressman, running again as a Democrat, continues to work with “the same radical left” who want him and his wife in jail — “and probably still do!”
“Such a lack of loyalty, that’s what Texas voters and Henry’s daughters are not going to like. Oh well, next time, no more Mr. Nice Guy!” Trump said. Cuellar’s two daughters, Cristina and Catherine, wrote a letter to Trump in November asking him to pardon their parents.
Trump explained that the pardons he announced Wednesday were an effort to stop the “weaponization” of prosecutions. Cuellar has been an outspoken critic of Biden’s immigration policies, a stance that Trump sees as key to aligning with the lawmaker’s.
Cuellar said he has good relationships within the party. “I think the Democratic caucus and I get along very well. But they know I’m an independent voice,” he said.
Switching parties would have been an unexpected benefit for Republicans as the Republican-controlled Legislature redrawn the state’s congressional districts this year at Trump’s behest. The Texas exercise kicked off mid-decade gerrymandering battles in multiple states. Trump is trying to defend the Republican majority in the House and avoid a repeat of his first term, when Democrats dominated the House midterm elections and used their new majority to obstruct the administration, launch investigations and impeach Trump twice.
However, Cuellar’s South Texas district, which includes parts of the San Antonio metropolitan area, is not one of the Democratic districts that has been significantly flipped by Republicans, and Cuellar believes he is still capable of winning re-election.
Federal authorities accuse Cuellar and his wife of accepting thousands of dollars in exchange for the congressman promoting the interests of an Azerbaijani-controlled energy company and a Mexican bank. Cuellar is accused of agreeing to influence legislation in favor of Azerbaijan and delivering pro-Azerbaijani speeches in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Cuellar said his wife is innocent. The couple’s trial was originally scheduled to begin in April.
In the Fox interview, Cuellar insisted federal authorities tried to bribe me through “a sting operation and it failed.”
Cuellar still faces an investigation by the House Ethics Committee.
