Congress
Henry Cuellar will seek reelection as a Democrat after Trump pardon
Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar filed for reelection Wednesday as a Democrat and told reporters he had no intention to retire or switch parties hours after President Donald Trump announced pardons for him and his wife.
“It came as a surprise,” Cuellar told a small group of reporters about the pardon. “I want to thank President Trump for this. … Now we clear the air. Nothing has changed, and we’re going to be ready to win re-election again.”
Trump’s announcement of the pardons Wednesday morning immediately stoked speculation that the 11-term veteran might finally switch to the GOP after years of entreaties or simply retire — giving Republicans a much better chance to flip his competitive Rio Grande Valley seat.
But Cuellar quickly assured a small group of senior Democrats that he would not switch parties, according to two people granted anonymity to describe the private conversations. He also filed reelection paperwork with Texas state officials Wednesday.
“Nothing has changed — I’m a good old conservative Democrat,” Cuellar said Wednesday.
Trump claimed on Truth Social that Cuellar’s prosecution was the result of his speaking out against former President Joe Biden’s immigration policy. Cuellar and his wife Imelda were indicted last year on more than a dozen corruption charges including bribery.
“Henry, I don’t know you, but you can sleep well tonight — Your nightmare is finally over!” Trump posted.
The clemency for Cuellar comes as the president faces backlash for his use of the pardon power, including for officials in his own party. Trump has also railed for years about Biden’s alleged “weaponization” of law enforcement, and the Cuellar pardon could serve to show that his interest in that subject crosses party lines.
But it stands to complicate the GOP’s longstanding effort to oust Cuellar from office. He is near the top of the party’s 2026 target list, and a top Republican recruit entered the race Tuesday.
Trump’s glowing praise of the Texas Democrat in his announcement of the pardon Wednesday — and Cuellar’s determination to seek reelection — shocked Republicans who have tried to defeat him for years.
Rep. Pete Sessions, informed of the news, said Cuellar’s electoral intentions show “there was not a quid pro quo” with Trump over the pardon. But the veteran Texas Republican and former NRCC chair declined to opine further.
“Very interesting,” he said. “Very interesting.”
Rep. Max Miller issued a subpoena to his former father-in-law and fellow Ohio Republican, Sen. Bernie Moreno, in the latest escalation of a long-running family legal drama.
Pamela MacAdams, an attorney for Miller, reported to the Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court Monday that three subpoenas were served in Miller’s divorce case, according to court records. A person with knowledge of the subpoenas granted anonymity to comment on them said that two were sent to Moreno and his wife, Bridget.
Their daughter, Emily Moreno, was married to Miller, and the two remain embroiled in a nasty legal battle.
Spokespeople for Miller, Emily Moreno and Bernie Moreno did not immediately return requests for comment. TMZ first reported on the subpoenas.
Miller is seeking reelection in a competitive district, and his campaign has been marred by accusations of domestic abuse against Emily Moreno and their daughter. Miller has repeatedly denied the allegations and chose to remain in the race despite other Republican lawmakers pressuring him to withdraw his campaign.
The House Ethics Committee, which began an inquiry into Miller after Miller asked to be investigated, is currently in a preelection blackout period. During that period, which will continue through the midterms, the Ethics Committee doesn’t take any action against sitting members who could return next Congress.
Congress
Trump declares $1B canceled in ‘pocket rescission’ in another affront to Congress’ funding power
President Donald Trump informed congressional leaders Friday that he has unilaterally canceled almost $1 billion without Congress’ consent — employing a budget maneuver many lawmakers consider illegal.
In a move that will almost certainly set up an ugly government funding battle after the midterms, Trump has again claimed the power to execute a so-called “pocket rescission” to nix money Congress has already enacted. The money his administration will claw back is for for immigration services, support to foreign countries, education programs, health research efforts and assistance for businesses owned by minorities.
By law, the president is allowed to send Congress a request to rescind federal funding, then withhold that money for 45 days while lawmakers consider whether to approve, reject or ignore it. Trump administration officials also argue they have the power to cancel funding without any congressional action by sending Congress a rescission request with less than 45 days left in the fiscal year. The argument is that the money automatically gets canceled on Sept. 30, when funding lapses at the end of the fiscal year.
Last year, Trump canceled $4.9 billion in foreign aid.
The Senate’s top Republican appropriator, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, immediately blasted the move as illegal, saying in a statement Friday night that “any effort to rescind appropriated funds without congressional approval is a clear violation of the law.”
“This move shows that OMB intentionally withheld these funds for months to execute this unlawful cancellation of appropriations that were approved on a bipartisan basis and signed into law,” Collins added, pledging to work with other lawmakers “to address these illegal actions.”
Collins and other appropriators have already been on high alert in recent days, pressing multiple agencies about funding officials have yet to spend ahead of the expiration date.
Democrats are finally catching on to how to talk to young male voters in the lead-up to the midterms, but the party can still up its game, one battleground senator and potential 2028er said Friday.
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) has been one of his party’s most outspoken critics on its handling of outreach to young men, who swung right and helped deliver the White House and both chambers of Congress to Republicans in 2024.
The party is now “definitely moving in the right direction,” Gallego said Friday.
“Like back in the day, I was like the only one,” putting out positions on men, Gallego said at a Washington event on young American men. “Now, like, it seems like everyone every week is coming out with a new position, new idea, which is great.”
Gallego has criticized Democrat’s failure to highlight mens’ struggles and their tendency to over-police mens’ ideas. But there are signs the political winds have shifted in his party’s favor.
A new Cygnal poll released with the event of men ages 18-30 who say they’re the most determined to vote revealed Democrats’ generic ballot lead over Republicans at 57%-40%, Blue Light News reported. The poll also said nearly 40 percent of respondents said they feel their lives are off track.
“We need to take the opportunity to invest in that portion of this country, to say that we care about them and actually try to change the trajectory of what’s happening with men in this country,” Gallego said at the symposium.
Still, the path for specific legislation targeting the needs of this demographic faces an incredibly tight calendar this Congress and is uncertain in the political landscape of next year.
A proposal from Gallego and Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) to establish a men’s health office within the Department of Health and Human Services, for example, has not advanced. Nor has bipartisan legislation from Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who also spoke at the event, targeting education outcomes, college investment transparency and dyslexic student support.
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