Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, will resume his role as the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, a week after President Donald Trump granted him clemency.
"We got ratified," Cuellar told reporters following a vote by Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee to reinstate him to his position on the powerful spending panel.
Trump last week pardoned Cuellar and his wife in a federal bribery and conspiracy case, citing what he called a "weaponized" justice system.
Federal authorities had charged Cuellar and his wife with accepting about $600,000 in bribes in exchange for the congressman's advancing the interests of an Azerbaijan-controlled energy company and a bank in Mexico.
Cuellar is accused of agreeing to influence legislation favorable to Azerbaijan and to deliver a pro-Azerbaijan speech on the floor of the U.S. House.
He has said he and his wife are innocent.
The couple's trial had been set to begin next April.
Rep. Lois Frankel, D-Fla., said there was no reason to ban Cuellar from the post.
"Just look at the rules. There's nothing more to say," she said.
Some Democrats, though, said Wednesday that they had concerns about reinstating him.
"I've had nothing but good interactions with Henry in Congress, but we can't be the party of following the law and say it's just fine to break it and get a pardon from Trump," said Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., who is running for Senate.
Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., said, "President Trump's continued efforts to pardon politicians that are either convicted or accused of corruption is just wrong.
"And this is exactly the kind of problem that causes so many Americans to lose trust and faith in our politics."
Cuellar, who has filed for reelection as a Democrat in his South Texas district, has cast himself as a "conservative Democrat" and urged Republicans to investigate what he calls misconduct by prosecutors in his case.
His district, already a top GOP target, is now likely to see attacks from both parties over his relationship with Trump, who has alternately defended Cuellar as a victim of "weaponized" justice and blasted him for refusing to switch parties.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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