WASHINGTON, Dec 7 (Reuters) – Democratic U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar defended his party ties on Sunday as Republican President Donald Trump blasted the Texas lawmaker for maintaining his allegiance after being granted a pardon last week.
Trump, in a social media post earlier on Sunday, said he signed the pardon for the congressman and his wife Imelda without talking to Cuellar first only to see the lawmaker then announce plans to seek re-election as a Democrat.
“Such a lack of LOYALTY, something that Texas Voters, and Henry’s daughters, will not like,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Oh’ well, next time, no more Mr. Nice guy!”
The Cuellars were indicted last year on allegations that they accepted close to $600,000 in bribes in two schemes meant to benefit an Azerbaijani state-owned energy company and an unnamed bank based in Mexico. Cuellar has maintained that he and his wife are innocent.
In an interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” show, Cuellar said his party ties don’t dictate his decisions. “I don’t vote party,” said Cuellar, who is seeking his 12th term in Congress. “I vote for what’s right for the country.”
Asked if he would consider switching parties, Cuellar added: “Look, I’m a Democrat.”
First elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2004, he has the reputation of being the House’s most conservative Democrat and recently fended off primary challenges from more progressive candidates in the party.
He told Fox News that Trump was on his mind when he attended church earlier in the day.
“I prayed for the president. I prayed for his family, and I prayed for the presidency because if the president succeeds, the country succeeds,” Cuellar said.
Democrats are seeking to wrest control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the November 2026 election halfway through Trump’s second term in the White House. Republicans, who have a narrow margin in the House, have redrawn Texas’ congressional map to be more favorable for their party.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
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