Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) is using an official congressional advertisement funded through his House office to promote what he describes as the “real results” he has delivered for Starr County.
“This is Congressman Henry Cuellar. In Congress, I’ve been working hard every day to deliver real results for Starr County by making our roads safer, supporting our schools, expanding access to affordable health care, giving law enforcement and veterans the resources they need, and ensuring strong border security, and I’ll keep working hard while keeping our taxes low so Starr County continues to prosper,” Cuellar says in the ad.
The advertisement displays a disclosure stating, “Paid for by the Office of U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar.”
The Members’ Congressional Handbook states that “ordinary and necessary expenses related to advertisements are reimbursable.” It adds that advertisements “must comply with all applicable Federal laws and House rules, including the Communications Standards Manual content and disclosure requirements.”
The handbook further states that members “must disclose, within a television and radio advertisement, the source of payment for the official advertisement.” It says members may use any of three disclosures: “Paid for with official funds from the office of [Member’s name],” “Paid for by the funds authorized by the House of Representatives for the [district number] District of [name of state],” or “Paid for by official funds authorized by the House of Representatives.”
Earlier this month, video obtained by Breitbart News appeared to show a City of Escobares worker installing Cuellar campaign signs in Starr County with a marked Public Works truck nearby. Texas law prohibits municipal employees from knowingly using public funds or city resources to distribute political advertising, and the Texas Ethics Commission has said using “government resources for an individual public servant’s private campaign purposes would be a misuse.” Neither the city nor Cuellar’s campaign responded to requests for comment before publication.
Cuellar’s brother, Webb County Sheriff Martin Cuellar (D), was indicted alongside Assistant Chief Deputy Alejandro Gutierrez in a federal case alleging they misused sheriff’s office employees, equipment, and supplies to operate a private disinfecting business. Prosecutors allege the business secured a $500,000 school district contract and operated largely with county personnel and resources; Martin Cuellar and Gutierrez face up to ten years in prison if convicted, while Martin Cuellar also faces a money laundering charge carrying an additional potential ten-year sentence.
Cuellar has also taken aim at President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement policies after previously criticizing the Biden administration’s handling of the border. In March, Cuellar said, “There were people that didn’t like what Biden did with open borders,” but added that “we’re not talking about open borders now.” He took issue with “the aggressiveness of ICE” at worksites involving people who “don’t have criminal records” and “have lived here for a long time,” as well as Republicans “building border walls” after border numbers had fallen. He also called tariffs “a hidden tax” on consumers.
Henry Cuellar and his wife, Imelda, were themselves indicted in 2024 on federal bribery charges alleging they accepted more than half a million dollars from an Azerbaijan-linked energy company and a Mexico City bank. Cuellar denied wrongdoing. Trump granted the couple full and unconditional pardons in December 2025, saying the prosecution was politically motivated and linking it to Cuellar’s criticism of the Biden administration’s border policies.
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