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3w ago

Trump Backs Cuellar’s GOP Challenger Weeks After Issuing Pardon

The president castigates the Texas Democrat for seeking re-election as a Democrat after receiving clemency.

Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina rides a horse in the Washington's Birthday Parade on Saturday Feb. 22, 2025 in Laredo, Texas.
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 06: House Appropriations Committee member Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) questions Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on May 06, 2025 in Washington, DC. Tasked with the Trump Administration's effort to deport millions of undocumented migrants from the United States, Noem testified before the Homeland Security Subcommittee about her department's FY 2026 budget request. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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Overview

  • Trump endorsed Republican Tano Tijerina for Texas’ 28th District and said he is “fighting” Rep. Henry Cuellar for his House seat in a Truth Social post.
  • Cuellar and his wife were pardoned by Trump in December following a 2024 DOJ indictment alleging roughly $600,000 in bribes tied to an Azerbaijani energy firm and a Mexican bank.
  • Prosecutors said payments were routed through front companies into shell entities owned by Imelda Cuellar, alleging the congressman agreed to influence U.S. policy and legislation.
  • Cuellar thanked Trump for the pardon, said he made no deal for clemency, and filed to run for re-election as a Democrat the week after receiving it.
  • Tijerina, a former Webb County judge who switched to the GOP in 2024, welcomed Trump’s endorsement as March primaries approach, while some Texas Republicans previously expressed disappointment over the pardon.