Trump lashes out as lawmaker he pardoned runs for reelection, sticks with Dems
- - Trump lashes out as lawmaker he pardoned runs for reelection, sticks with Dems
Kathryn Palmer, USA TODAY December 8, 2025 at 3:48 AM
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A few days after President Donald Trump issued a preemptive pardon to embattled Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar, the Texas congressman announced he is running for reelection. The president is not happy about it.
Though seen as one of the most conservative Democrats in the U.S. House, Cuellar is not switching parties in 2026. In a post to social media on Dec. 7, Trump slammed the congressman for "continuing to work with the same Radical Left Scum."
"Such a lack of LOYALTY, something that Texas Voters, and Henry’s daughters, will not like," Trump said in the post. He referenced a letter he said he received from the congressman's children requesting the pardon.
1 / 7Photos show Trump and celebs gather for 2026 World Cup drawUS Draw assistant Shaquille O'Neal poses on the red carpet upon arrival to attend the draw for the 2026 FIFA Football World Cup taking place in the US, Canada and Mexico, at the Kennedy Center, in Washington, DC, on December 5, 2025.
Both Cuellar and his wife, Imelda, were indicted last year on counts of bribery, conspiracy and money laundering. They were accused of accepting nearly $600,000 in bribes from a company tied to the Azerbaijan government and a bank headquartered in Mexico City. Cuellar has maintained their innocence.
Trump claimed without evidence that the charges were politically motivated because the Democrat pushed back against his party's immigration and southern border policies.
More: Embattled Rep. Henry Cuellar to run for reelection as Democrat after Trump pardon
Trump said in the post he had not spoken to the Cuellar family before issuing the pardon, but suggested in the post he expected the Democratic congressman to no longer align with the party. Cuellar has not given any indication he was considering switching to the Republican party.
In an interview with Fox News’s "Sunday Morning Futures," Cuellar described himself as a "conservative Democrat."
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) questions Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas during a Homeland Security Subcommittee hearing on the DHS budget request on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., April 10, 2024.
"I follow the words of President LBJ [Lyndon B. Johnson], who said many years ago, 'I’m an American, I’m a Texan, and I’m a Democrat, in that order,'" Cuellar said during the Dec. 7 interview. "And I think anybody that puts party before their country is doing a disservice to their country."
Cuellar reiterated that he remains a Democrat but has reached out to the Trump administration and said he wants to reach areas of common ground with Republicans.
Cuellar, 70, was elected to the Texas House eight times before winning his first election to Congress in 2004. The longtime Congressman became vulnerable for an 11th term after the federal indictment in May 2024 accused him and his wife of accepting bribes and money laundering.
Contributing: Rebecca Morin, USA TODAY.
Kathryn Palmer is a politics reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at [email protected] and on X @KathrynPlmr. Sign up for her daily politics newsletter here.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump calls Henry Cuellar's Dem reelection bid a 'lack of loyalty'
Source: “AOL Breaking”
