Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar confirmed that he plans to run for another term as a Democrat, on the same day President Donald Trump granted sweeping pardons to him and his wife, calling their indictment a political hit job from the Biden era.
Cuellar made the announcement on “Special Report with Bret Baier,” where the Fox News host confronted him directly about whether he intended to continue running under the Democratic banner.
The congressman, long known as one of the few moderates left in his party, insisted he was not backing away from his affiliation while making it clear he intends to work closely with the current president.
“Look, I’m a conservative Democrat, and I work across the lines, and I want to see the president succeed. President Trump, and it’s good for the country, and I will work with anybody,” Cuellar said, adding that his party designation would remain unchanged despite his growing alignment with the administration.
🚨 HENRY CUELLAR tells Fox’s @BretBaier on seeking re-election after Trump pardon: “I’m a conservative Democrat, I work across the lines, and I want to see President Trump succeed. It’s good for the country. We might have differences, but if I can work with him I will.” pic.twitter.com/MISOUUKeZA
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) December 3, 2025
He doubled down when Baier pressed him further, saying, “We might have some differences, but if I can work with them, I will work with President Trump,” before arguing that he votes more reliably on key issues than several Republicans in the House GOP.
The congressman noted that “liberal Democrats are still going to have a problem with me because some of them don’t believe in bipartisanship,” a point he made while highlighting his long history of collaborating with Republicans.
Cuellar has represented Texas’ 28th Congressional District since 2005 and survived a difficult reelection bid last year, winning by more than 10,000 votes only months after his federal indictment.
He attributed those results to support from both independents and moderate Republicans, remarking that crossover backing “is the reason I win” and predicting he would secure another victory when the time comes.
Throughout his time in office, Cuellar has regularly broken with his party on high profile issues.
He criticized the border policies championed by former President Joe Biden, backed Republican Governor Greg Abbott’s migrant busing initiative, and sided with GOP lawmakers on legislation tied to migrant crime, protections for women’s sports, and federal spending fights.
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Earlier this year, he faulted Democrats who resisted efforts to deport an alleged MS 13 member, pointing again to gaps he saw in the previous administration’s handling of border enforcement.
During the interview, Cuellar accused the Biden era Department of Justice of weaponizing its prosecution against him.
“I did speak against the Biden administration about open borders,” he explained to Baier. “Absolutely it was weaponized.”
His allegations echoed long running concerns from Republicans who argued throughout Biden’s tenure that federal agencies had been targeting political critics.
Cuellar and his wife Imelda were awaiting trial on bribery and money laundering charges tied to accusations that they accepted roughly $600,000 from foreign sources, including an Azerbaijan state owned oil company and a Mexican bank, between 2014 and 2021.
The Department of Justice had alleged that Cuellar acted as a foreign agent for Azerbaijan, though the congressman and his legal team have repeatedly rejected those claims.
Trump unveiled the pardons on Truth Social, where he also shared a letter from the Cuellars’ daughters urging him to intervene.
Trump argued the indictment was politically motivated, saying, “For years, the Biden Administration weaponized the Justice System against their Political Opponents, and anyone who disagreed with them.”
He continued by accusing “Crooked Joe” of using federal law enforcement to target a member of his own party who had spoken out against the border situation under Biden.
In a separate part of the post, the president wrote that Biden had gone after Cuellar and his wife simply “for speaking the TRUTH,” calling the prosecution “unAmerican” and describing the broader Democratic leadership as a threat to the nation’s stability.
Trump ended the announcement by declaring, “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!”
Cuellar offered his gratitude toward the president in both interviews and written statements, saying, “I want to thank President Trump for pardoning,” and adding that his family had endured a difficult ordeal.
He reiterated that “God has been good to my wife, to my family,” before repeating his thanks to the president.
On X, he wrote that he was thankful for divine support throughout the case, saying the pardon “clears the air and lets us move forward for South Texas.”
He continued that the decision provided “a clean slate” and that while “the noise is gone,” the work still lies ahead.
Federal prosecutors had previously indicted the couple on fourteen counts, including bribery, conspiracy, and money laundering.
Cuellar maintained that he had secured a legal opinion and two ethics opinions “before any work was done,” insisting he had followed proper procedures and saying he understood Trump’s legal challenges during the 2024 campaign.
He told Fox News that he “really felt for him on some of the charges they filed against him” and described the situation as unfair.
Baier attempted to clarify how the pardon was initiated, but Cuellar declined to elaborate, stating only that he was not going to second guess any decision the president made and offering a final, direct message: “President Trump, thank you.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) surprisingly stood behind Trump’s decision to pardon the Cuellars.
“I don’t know why the president decided to do this, [but] I think the outcome was exactly the right outcome,” Jeffries told CNN.
The New York lawmaker mentioned that he thought the indictment evidence was “thin to begin with.”
“The charges were eventually going to be dismissed — if not at the trial court level [then] by the Supreme Court, as they’ve repeatedly done in instances just like this,” he added.
