WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump criticized Rep. Henry Cuellar for his “lack of loyalty” to running as a Democrat after receiving a presidential pardon.
“This lack of LOYALTY will not sit well with Texas voters and Henry's daughters,” Trump said in a Sunday post for Truth Social. “Well, no Mister Nice Guy next time!”
Trump announced last week that he pardoned Cuellar, a Texas Democrat who was indicted last year on bribery and money laundering charges. Cuellar thanked then-President message in X “For his outstanding leadership and for taking the time to look at the facts.”
Asked last week whether any agreement had been reached with the White House, Cuellar told reporters “no.”
In his Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump said he “never spoke to the Congressman, his wife or his daughters, but felt very good fighting for a family that was being tormented by very sick and deranged people – they were treated sooooo BAD!”
Trump criticized Cuellar, saying that by running for the Democratic nomination, he is “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 are probably still doing so!”
Cuellar responded to the report in an interview with Fox News' “Sunday Morning Futures,” saying he was praying for Trump and his family this morning and adding, “I don't vote for a party, I vote for what's right for the country.”
He added: “I'm a conservative Democrat, but I will work with the president.” Cuellar expressed interest in meeting with border czar Tom Homan and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, saying, “I'd like to sit down and see where we can find common ground.”
Cuellar's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Cuellar has filed to run for the Democratic nomination, according to an unofficial candidate filing tracker maintained by the Texas Democratic Party. The application deadline is Monday.
Cuellar and his wife Imelda were accused in May 2024 on 14 counts, including bribery, wire fraud and money laundering. Two counts related to alleged violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act were later dismissed.
The Cuellars have pleaded not guilty. Both the congressman and the president argued that it was politically motivated, although neither provided evidence that politics influenced charging decisions.
Prosecutors claimed that Cuellar and his wife accepted bribes of hundreds of thousands of dollars from an Azerbaijani oil and gas company, as well as from a Mexican bank, to carry out official acts in favor of the companies. The Cuellars denied wrongdoing throughout the process, and the congressman thanked Trump in a note saying the pardon “clears the situation and allows us to move forward in South Texas.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said last week that he agreed with Cuellar's pardon.
“I think the outcome was absolutely correct,” he said in a statement. CNN interview.
Republicans have tried to unseat Cuellar from his throne in South Texas cycle after cycle, but the congressman's political power in the district has proven enormous—he won re-election in 2024 even with a charge hanging over his head in a district that Trump won by about 7 percentage points.
When Texas Republicans, at Trump's urging, decided to redraw their state's congressional map earlier this year to give the GOP a chance to flip a few seats, they added even more Republicans to Cuellar's district in hopes of finally finding a way to unseat him.
