In a single Truth Social post, President Donald Trump put the entire Republican conference in an uncomfortable spot.
Trump issued a “full and unconditional” pardon for Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar Wednesday morning, more than a year after the Department of Justice charged the South Texan with bribery and acting as a foreign agent.
“Henry, I don’t know you, but you can sleep well tonight — Your nightmare is finally over!” Trump wrote, suggesting the Biden administration’s DOJ targeted Cuellar for repeatedly bucking Democratic leadership.
Even if Cuellar can rest easy, Trump’s pardon could keep House Republicans up at night. Cuellar’s district represents a top pick-up opportunity where Republicans have a slight edge. But the congressional veteran and South Texas institution has managed to hold onto his seat. Republicans landed a top recruit this week, Judge Tano Tijerina, but they have floundered with flawed candidates in past cycles.
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“Republicans in ruin. The NRCC can’t seem to get it together – even the President is undermining them,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Viet Shelton said in a statement.
National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Richard Hudson told NOTUS that the pardon “surprised” him. He got no heads up and learned the news from a post on Truth Social.
“He’s definitely a more formidable opponent without the legal cloud hanging over him,” Hudson said of Cuellar.
Speaker Mike Johnson downplayed the notion that Cuellar’s pardon makes flipping the district more difficult for Republicans.
“That has no effect on us at all,” he said, projecting optimism. “That’s a very competitive district, and we’ll have a strong candidate in that district.”
He added: “We’re recruiting all stars to flip some of these blue seats to red.”
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise also echoed Trump’s argument that Cuellar was charged because he went against the Biden administration.
“He was the only person vocally against President Biden’s open border policies, and then, lo and behold, just a few months later, he gets indicted by Biden’s Justice Department as a sitting Democrat member Congress,” Scalise suggested. “It was interesting timing.”
Tijerina, the top Republican in the primary to run against Cuellar, issued a statement on X Wednesday afternoon after news of Cuellar’s pardon, writing: “I did not launch my campaign because Congressman Cuellar was in trouble, I am running because South Texas is in trouble..I’m ready for this fight. See you on the trail. Game on.”
The day Cuellar was charged, however, Republicans were ready to attack Cuellar over the indictment. An NRCC spokesman called Cuellar “broke, indicted, and completely out of touch with South Texans’ values” in a statement to The Texas Tribune.
With the pardon, however, Trump took Cuellar’s greatest vulnerability — his legal woes — off of the table for Republicans to attack. Trump even went so far as calling Cuellar “beloved,” “Highly Respected” and a champion to close “Open Borders.”
Given the House majority will likely hinge on just a couple of competitive districts, Trump’s gift to Cuellar is a massive blow to his own party’s campaign strategy and prospects of holding onto the speaker’s gavel.
Many Republicans demurred when NOTUS asked about the Cuellar pardon.
Rep. Chip Roy, of Texas, said he had not yet reviewed the pardon but that Trump has “that power, and he believed that he was exercising it for good reason, and I’ll just have to trust him and his pardon attorneys.”
Rep. Michael Cloud, also of Texas, “I haven’t really tracked anything about the case, so I can say, as a Texan, he’s been a good guy to work with, been able to get a lot of stuff done for Texas.”
Asked about any concerns about the GOP’s midterm prospects, Cloud replied, “We’ll win the majority anyway.”
While Democrats can enjoy watching political prognosticators opine about Cuellar’s improved chances to keep his district, they face their own sensitive messaging challenge.
Celebrating Trump’s pardon would undermine the Biden administration’s 2024 indictment. Funnelling resources to Cuellar or campaigning with him could present questions for House Democrats about why they are supporting a man who appears cozy with Trump.
So cozy, in fact, that Cuellar faced questions Wednesday about whether he planned to change parties.
Cuellar told reporters that “nothing has changed” about his party affiliation. He filed to run for reelection as a Democrat Wednesday afternoon.
A Republican strategist close to the White House told NOTUS that some inside the White House Office of Legislative Affairs believed Cuellar was open to switching parties. When the strategist learned that Cuellar had filed to run for reelection as a Democrat, they responded simply, “Wow.”
A White House official defended Trump’s decision to pardon Cuellar, despite him being a Democrat.
“The President provided justification for his pardon decision in his statement, including his view on the indictment and the letter received from Cuellar’s daughters,” the official said. “The President’s statement is the full justification. Any other speculation from second-hand sources, who claim they know someone who said something, should not be taken seriously.”
Cuellar thanked Trump profusely on X for his “tremendous leadership and for taking the time to look at the facts.”
“This pardon gives us a clean slate. The noise is gone. The work remains. And I intend to meet it head on,” Cuellar said. “Thank you Mr. President, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.”
For now, Democrats seem to be embracing the Cuellar news.
“I think Congressman Cuellar is a highly-valued Member of the House Democratic Caucus,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told CNN, “and I expect that he’ll continue to remain a highly-valued Member of the House Democratic Caucus.”
When fellow moderate Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi saw Cuellar in the Capitol Hill halls Wednesday, he gave him a hug.
“I’m happy for him and his family,” Cuellar’s fellow South Texas Democrat, Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, told NOTUS. “He’s been through a lot.”
“Most people are pretty happy for him, even on both sides of the aisle,” Gonzalez said.
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