President Trump endorsed a Republican candidate hoping to unseat Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX), who Trump pardoned last month. “A Great and Highly Respected Hispanic Judge, very successful Businessman, and Rancher, Tano Tijerina has dedicated his life to serving his Community. In Congress, he will fight tirelessly to Grow our Economy, Promote our Amazing Farmers and Ranchers, Cut Taxes and Regulations, Promote MADE IN THE U.S.A., Champion American Energy DOMINANCE, Keep our now very Secure Border, SECURE, Stop Migrant Crime, Ensure LAW AND ORDER, Strengthen our Military/Veterans, and Protect our always under siege Second Amendment,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I don’t know why, but the fact that Henry Cuellar would be running against Donald J. Trump, and the Republican Party, seems to be a great act of disloyalty and, perhaps more importantly, the act of a fool who would immediately go back to a Political Party, the Radical Left Democrats, whose views are different from his, but not nearly good or strong enough to be a true Republican. The Democrats wanted to put him ‘away’ for the rest of his life and, likewise, the life of his wife,” Trump continued. “Knowing everything and, if I had to do it again, I would do the exact same thing. I would pardon Henry Cuellar because he was put through a Political Persecution, but he was also not smart in what he did, not respected by his Party, and a person who truly deserves to be beaten badly in the upcoming Election, but not somebody who should be serving a 20 year jail sentence. Likewise, however, based on all that has happened, Henry should not be allowed to serve in Congress again. Tano’s views are stronger, better, and far less tainted than Henry’s, and he has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Representative from Texas’ 28th Congressional District,” he added. Full Post: Fox News has more: The commander in chief pardoned Cuellar in December after he was indicted by the Justice Department in May 2024 on charges alleging he accepted roughly $600,000 in bribes from an Azerbaijani state-owned oil and gas company and a Mexican bank in exchange for using his office to influence U.S. foreign policy. Cuellar and his wife, Imelda, were facing multiple counts, including bribery, money laundering and unlawful foreign influence. After Trump granted him clemency, the congressman thanked the president for what he called his “tremendous leadership,” and said the decision allowed South Texas to move forward. “This pardon gives us a clean slate. The noise is gone. The work remains. And I intend to meet it head on,” Cuellar wrote on X. Cuellar won re-election in November 2024 and has been in Congress since 2005. “Honored to have the support of @realDonaldTrump! Together, we are going to take South Texas back and put America First,” Tijerina said. Honored to have the support of @realDonaldTrump! Together, we are going to take South Texas back and put America First. Donate to my campaign here: https://t.co/Y6PpwkSSwH https://t.co/996kcKV28i — Judge Tano Tijerina (@JudgeTano) January 6, 2026 “Nobody knows Henry Cuellar better than Donald J. Trump. I studied his records, learned about his financing, and listened to his two wonderful daughters beg me to help the mother and father that they love. Their letters were heart wrenching and beautiful, but their father had problems that nobody could solve but me, and the daughters very correctly and respectfully knew that. He and his wife were headed to jail for up to 20 years because he was ‘stupid’ in what he did but, above all, because the Biden Administration practiced Political Weaponization on Cuellar and his wife because they didn’t agree with his policies on the Southern Border,” Trump said in another post. “He was a weak and incompetent version of me, who wanted the Border closed to criminals, drug dealers, people from mental institutions and, above all, murderers and heavy handed criminals that were sitting in jails and mental institutions, and should never have been given the right to be released into our Country. Henry’s views on these subjects were not strong, but they were better than other Democrats. 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. Being an expert on Political Weaponization, based on what the Biden Losers had done to me, and without having ever met Henry Cuellar, and in particular because of the magnificence of the letter drawn by his daughters asking me to help ‘Mom and Dad,’ I gave him and Mrs. Cuellar a full and unconditional Pardon,” he continued. “In doing so, I never assumed he would be running for Office again, and certainly not as a Democrat, who essentially destroyed his life even with the Pardon given, but he did, and now, despite doing him by far the greatest favor of his life, 20 years of FREEDOM, 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,” he added. Full post: The Hill noted: The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the race for Cuellar’s district as “lean Democratic.” Trump rolled out a number of other House endorsements on Tuesday, backing Amanda McKinney in Washington’s 4th Congressional District while offering rare dual endorsement for Gina Swoboda and Jay Feely in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District.