President Trump lashed out at Rep. Henry Cuellar on Sunday, calling him a “lack of loyalty” as the Democratic congressman announced he plans to run again as a Democrat the next time he represents Texas in the U.S. House, rather than switch to the Republican Party.
Trump said in social media posts that he may expect Cuellar to help Republicans maintain their narrow majority in the House during the 2026 midterm elections after Cuellar is granted clemency.
Cuellar is a Democrat who has been a member of Texas’ 28th District since 2005. Mr Trump recently pardoned him and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, were both indicted last year on federal bribery charges. Their two daughters, Christina and Katherine, wrote a letter to Trump in November asking him to pardon their parents.
The president has claimed that the charges against them were politically targeted by the Justice Department under former President Joe Biden, writing in multiple Truth Society posts that Cuellar was being attacked within the Democratic Party over his views on immigration and border security.
Shortly after Trump issued the pardon, Cuellar announced his decision to launch another congressional campaign, albeit as the Democratic nominee. In a Truth Society post about Cuellar on Sunday, Trump blasted the congressman for not switching parties after gaining the president’s favor.
“Shortly after signing the pardon, Congressman Henry Cuellar announced that he would once again ‘run’ for Congress as a Democrat in the great state of Texas (a state where I received the highest number of votes ever!), continuing to work with the same radical leftist scum who just weeks ago wanted him and his wife to spend the rest of their lives in prison — and, as it turns out, still do!” Mr. Trump wrote, describing Cuellar’s actions as a “lack of loyalty.”
“Next time, no more Mr. Nice Guy!” the president added.
Cuellar discussed the pardons on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” on Sunday, saying he believed the prosecution of him and his wife was an act of retaliation by Biden administration officials for his criticism of the former president’s border policies.
“I look at all the evidence now, look at everything, and I do feel like I was weaponized, and he [former President Biden] “Using the department to go after me and my family,” Cuellar said. “I’ll tell you one thing, if they want to go after me because I’m a critic of open borders, that’s one thing. But you don’t bring your family in. You just don’t do it.”
CBS News reached out to Cuellar’s office for comment on Mr. Trump’s “Truth Society” post but did not immediately receive a response.
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. Cuellar’s South Texas district, which includes parts of the San Antonio metropolitan area, is not one of the Democratic districts where Republicans have made significant changes.
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