Rep. Henry Cuellar, who is facing charges of bribery and acting as a foreign agent, is now on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's "frontline list" for the 2026 election, which is gaining scrutiny from the group's GOP rival.
Cuellar, who represents a district along the southern border, was not part of the program meant to assist Democrats at risk of losing their election in 2024, but he still won re-election in November.
"The DCCC throwing cash at Henry Cuellar, an indicted congressman facing bribery and foreign agent charges, is certainly a choice. Do other frontline Democrats stand by pumping campaign cash into defending a corrupt and sleazy politician?" NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella said in a statement Thursday.
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The Department of Justice under the Biden administration indicted Cuellar and his wife for allegedly taking roughly $600,000 in bribes from an Azerbaijan-owned energy company and a Mexican bank, according to a news release at the time.
"I want to be clear that both my wife and I are innocent of these allegations. Everything I have done in Congress has been to serve the people of South Texas. Before I took any action, I proactively sought legal advice from the House Ethics Committee, who gave me more than one written opinion, along with an additional opinion from a national law firm," Cuellar said in a statement at the time, according to KGNS.
At the time of the indictment, President Donald Trump said it may have had to do with border politics.
"Biden just Indicted Henry Cuellar because the Respected Democrat Congressman wouldn't play Crooked Joe's Open Border game," Trump said in a Truth Social post at the time. "He was for Border Control, so they said, 'Let's use the FBI and DOJ to take him out!' This is the way they operate. They're a bunch of D.C. Thugs, and at some point they will be paying a very big price for what they have done to our Country."
Cuellar also recently told Fox News he's disagreed with some aspects of the Biden administration's approach on the border crisis.
In 2024, some Democrats opposed his campaign in the primary due to his belief that abortion should be a state issue, according to Punchbowl News.
His office did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication. Two "advisors" tied to the case have already pleaded guilty, according to The Texas Tribune.
As for Cuellar, his trial was pushed back to this year. The DCCC declined to comment.
The DCCC program has 26 incumbent members of Congress it plans to invest resources in to retain their seats.
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"These 26 House Democrats are battle-tested and laser-focused on pocketbook issues. Democrats are poised to retake the majority in 2026, and these members will help us do that," the DCCC tweeted on Thursday.
Republicans have an narrow House majority they hope to defend and expand in 2026.
