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As Democrats look ahead with increased confidence to the 2026 midterm elections, Republicans are narrowing their focus, considering specific races where the GOP can at least try to stem the tide. Near the top of the party’s target list is Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas, whose Laredo-area district backed Donald Trump by seven points last fall......

The developments are important for a variety of reasons, but for GOP officials, the clemency was a setback: The Republicans’ own president had just taken away a cudgel the party had hoped to use against one of their top 2026 election targets.

What’s more, according to an Axios report, Trump didn’t bother to give his ostensible allies a heads-up, either. From the report:

President Trump didn’t tell Speaker Mike Johnson that he was granting a ‘full and unconditional PARDON’ to Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) before announcing it on Truth Social this morning, Johnson told Axios. … Trump’s pardon boosts one of House Republicans’ top political targets — and could hamper GOP efforts to protect their razor-thin majority in next year’s midterms.

....As for the president’s rationale, at a White House event on Wednesday afternoon, Trump tried to blame Joe Biden for the series of events.

Trump on Cuellar: "He was treated very badly because he said that people should not be allowed to pour into our country ... he got indicted for speaking the truth."

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-12-03T21:23:19.591Z

....In other words, Trump didn’t only clear the slate for a lawmaker accused of corruption while simultaneously undermining the work of federal law enforcement officials, he also hurt his own party’s electoral plans because of a ridiculous conspiracy theory that only the president believes.

No wonder GOP officials in Congress sound frustrated.