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Moderate South Texas Democrat Rep. Henry Cuellar revealed his feelings about his pardon by President Donald Trump and addressed whether he will be switching political parties.
Speaking with Fox News Digital, Cuellar said, “I’m certainly very thankful to the president, thankful to the president, and also very thankful to God. It was a very difficult time for my family, my daughters, my wife, a very difficult time, but we came through this.”
Asked whether he agrees with Trump that he was targeted by the Biden administration, Cuellar said, “Absolutely, absolutely.”
“We looked up how many times I got on national TV and national media; it was over 150 times. I was very critical of the Biden administration,” he said. “I tried very hard to get them to understand the border. I live there, they just wouldn’t take it, and after that I started criticizing them.”
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Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, talks with reporters in the Capitol after a meeting of House Democrats on Thursday, June 27, 2019. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
“The timing of this was very suspect, 40 days before an election, if you recall, I was having that primary race where they spent 20 million dollars against me and more things that we’re going to talk about that makes it very, very suspect. And remember, I had a legal opinion by a law firm, I had two ethics opinions on this, and they went ahead and moved forward on this.”
Cuellar said that amid the investigation, the Trump team called him up and asked, “What’s going on?”
On the question of whether he will be switching parties after the pardon, Cuellar said, “Nothing has changed. I’m a conservative blue dog, I will work with the president like I have done with him on the things that we can agree on, we can agree on a lot of things.”
“But as a very conservative Democrat, I’m good here,” he went on, adding, “But I’m very bipartisan. I certainly want to work with the administration. In fact, some of his folks have reached out to me about working on some things together, and we’re going to work together.”
“We’re going to continue to focus on work, and we’re ready to move forward on work, but again I certainly want to thank the president for this pardon,” he told Fox News Digital.
Trump announced a “full and unconditional pardon” for Cuellar and his wife, Imelda, on Wednesday.
President Donald Trump speaks during a breakfast with Senate and House Republicans in the State Dining Room of the White House, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The Department of Justice under the Biden administration had indicted Cuellar and his wife in May 2024 for allegedly taking roughly $600,000 in bribes from an Azerbaijan-owned energy company and a Mexican bank, according to a news release at the time.
The move came after he began speaking out against former President Joe Biden’s lax border policies.
In his statement announcing the pardon, Trump wrote, “For years, the Biden Administration weaponized the Justice System against their Political Opponents, and anyone who disagreed with them. One of the clearest examples of this was when Crooked Joe used the FBI and DOJ to ‘take out’ a member of his own Party after Highly Respected Congressman Henry Cuellar bravely spoke out against Open Borders, and the Biden Border ‘Catastrophe.’”
“Sleepy Joe went after the Congressman, and even the Congressman’s wonderful wife, Imelda, simply for speaking the TRUTH. It is unAmerican and, as I previously stated, the Radical Left Democrats are a complete and total threat to Democracy! They will attack, rob, lie, cheat, destroy, and decimate anyone who dares to oppose their Far Left Agenda, an Agenda that, if left unchecked, will obliterate our magnificent Country,” Trump continued. “Because of these facts, and others, I am hereby announcing my full and unconditional PARDON of beloved Texas Congressman Henry Cuellar, and Imelda. Henry, I don’t know you, but you can sleep well tonight — Your nightmare is finally over!”
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Rep. Henry Cuellar is under scrutiny for being on the DCCC’s focus list for the 2026 election. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images/AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
In January 2024, Cuellar warned fellow Democrats, including President Biden, to prepare for border security to be a top election issue in the 2024 cycle.
Speaking of Biden, he said, “It’s in the president’s best interest politically to come up with a solution on border security.”
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In a statement following the pardon, Cuellar said, “I want to thank President Trump for his tremendous leadership and for taking the time to look at the facts.”
“I thank God for standing with my family and I during this difficult time. This decision clears the air and lets us move forward for South Texas,” he added. “This pardon gives us a clean slate. The noise is gone. The work remains. And I intend to meet it head on. Thank you Mr. President, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.”
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