Overview
- On Monday President Donald Trump posted a lengthy Truth Social message attacking Rep. Henry Cuellar, attached a pardon request from Cuellar’s daughters, and renewed his endorsement of Judge Tano Tijerina for the seat.
- Trump granted full, unconditional pardons to Cuellar and his wife in December after a Justice Department indictment accused them of bribery, unlawful foreign influence, and money laundering tied to payments from an Azerbaijani oil company and a Mexican bank.
- Cuellar filed to run for reelection as a Democrat and won the party primary in March, keeping him on track to face Tijerina in the November general election.
- On Monday Cuellar urged a full, independent investigation into a recent ICE-related shooting in Maine, a separate public action noted during the exchange with the president.
- The public split turns the race into a test of border policy and prosecutions, risks drawing national attention and resources to a South Texas district, and sharpens competing claims that the DOJ was politically motivated.