President Donald Trump publicly rebuked Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) and endorsed his Republican opponent after the Texas Democrat sought reelection despite receiving a presidential pardon that spared him and his wife from a federal bribery prosecution.

Trump said the pardon was an act of mercy, not an expression of political support, and indicated that he had expected Cuellar to leave Congress rather than seek another term as a Democrat.

Trump Says He Expected Cuellar to Retire

Cuellar and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, had been accused of accepting nearly $600,000 in bribes and laundering the money.

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The charges carried the possibility of lengthy prison sentences before Trump pardoned the couple.

“In doing so, I never assumed he would be running for Office again, and certainly not as a Democrat,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Cuellar nevertheless won the Democrat primary in March and advanced to the general election in Texas’s 28th Congressional District.

He will face Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina, who won the Republican primary and received Trump’s endorsement in the same Truth Social post.

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Trump said he decided to pardon the Cuellars after receiving a November 12 letter from their daughters, Christina and Catherine, pleading for mercy on behalf of their parents.

Trump described the letters as “heart-wrenching and beautiful.”

According to Trump, the daughters argued that their father’s “independence and honesty” may have contributed to the federal investigation.

Trump accused the Biden administration of targeting Cuellar because of his disagreements with Democrats over border policy.

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“Biden and his crew of Radical Left Thugs did not like those things about Cuellar, and they worked hard, and expected to put him in jail for the rest of his life,” Trump wrote.

Trump Backs Tijerina for Border District

Cuellar has represented the South Texas district since 2005 and has frequently positioned himself as one of the more conservative Democrats in Congress, particularly on border security.

Trump acknowledged that Cuellar’s positions were sometimes preferable to those of other Democrats but said they did not go far enough.

“Henry’s views on these subjects were not strong, but they were better than other Democrats,” Trump wrote.

The president then drew a direct contrast between Cuellar and Tijerina, arguing that the Republican would be stronger on the issues most important to voters in the border district.

“I am fighting him for his seat in Congress because his views are not nearly as good or strong as Judge Tano Tijerina, who is much more powerful on the Border issue, cutting Taxes, our Military, and just about everything else than is Henry Cuellar,” Trump wrote.

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Texas’s 28th Congressional District stretches along the southern border and has remained in Democratic hands for more than two decades.

The general election will test whether Trump’s endorsement can help Republicans flip the longtime Democratic seat as border security remains a central issue throughout South Texas.

Pardon Did Not Secure Political Support

Trump has repeatedly used his pardon power to provide relief in cases he viewed as politically motivated or unjust.

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The Cuellar pardon stood out because it benefited a sitting Democrat who had often broken with his party on immigration and border enforcement.

However, Trump’s latest remarks make clear that clemency did not translate into an alliance.

Cuellar had not publicly responded to Trump’s comments.

The president’s endorsement also underscores that he views Tijerina, rather than Cuellar, as the candidate best positioned to advance his border, tax, and national security agenda in Congress.

Trump spared Cuellar and his wife from federal prosecution, but he is now working to ensure that the congressman does not return to Washington.

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