President Donald Trump was furious after Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) was pardoned but didn't switch parties to be a Republican. Now "The Cook Political Report" is predicting that the congressional seat will likely stay in his control.
Cuellar was set to face bribery charges until Trump stepped in. Despite the pardon, however, Cuellar remains with his own party.
“Such a lack of LOYALTY, something that Texas Voters, and Henry’s daughters, will not like,” the president ranted in a lengthy Truth Social post Sunday. “Oh, well, next time, no more Mr. Nice guy!”
"President Donald Trump has gone to extreme lengths to shore up Republicans’ tenuous hold on the House — going as far as pressuring state legislators to redraw their congressional maps to net their party a single seat," wrote Cook's Erin Covey.
Trump had demanded red states do mid-decade redistricting in an effort to redraw congressional district lines to eliminate Democratic seats and hold onto power. However, his efforts with Cuellar didn't pan out.
Trump even went so far as to accuse President Joe Biden administration of targeting Cuellar for “speaking the truth” about border security with the Justice Department probe.
Covey noted that last week there was speculation that Trump cut a deal with Cuellar and that he would switch parties for the pardon or retire altogether.
Now, "The Cook Political Reporter" has moved the seat from a toss-up to "likely Democrat."
