House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries agreed with President Donald Trump’s decision to pardon Rep. Henry Cuellar on bribery, money laundering, and “foreign influence” charges from the Biden-era Justice Department in 2024.

“Listen, the reality is this indictment was very thin to begin with, in my view. The charges were eventually going to be dismissed, if not at the trial court level by the Supreme Court, as they’ve repeatedly done in instances just like this,” the Democrat leader said on CNN’s “The Situation Room” on Wednesday, adding that Cuellar is a “beloved” member of the chamber.

He further added, “I don’t know why the President decided to do this. I think the outcome was exactly the right outcome.”

When CNN asked Jeffries if Cuellar had planned to switch parties, as he represents a south Texas district that the president won last year, he anticipates that the lawmaker will remain a Democrat.

“I think Congressman Cuellar is a highly-valued Member of the House Democratic Caucus, and I expect that he’ll continue to remain a highly-valued Member of the House Democratic Caucus,” he added.

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The Texas Democrat filed to run in the Democratic primary earlier on Wednesday. Punchbowl News reported that Cuellar said “nothing has changed” when asked on Capitol Hill after the pardon whether he planned to become a Republican.

The 2024 indictment alleged that Cuellar and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, “accepted approximately $600,000 in bribes from two foreign entities: an oil and gas company wholly owned and controlled by the Government of Azerbaijan, and a bank headquartered in Mexico City.”

Trump has been a critic of the indictment since it was announced in May 2024, saying it was politically motivated due to the congressman’s opposition to the Biden administration’s lax border policies. The Biden administration caught flak from Republicans and a handful of Democrats for the border crisis that persisted throughout the term, which led to major humanitarian issues in communities throughout the southwest that were ill-equipped to handle the resulting massive influx of individuals crossing illegally.

“I want to thank President Trump for his tremendous leadership and for taking the time to look at the facts. I thank God for standing with my family and I during this difficult time. This decision clears the air and lets us move forward for South Texas,” the Democrat said in an X post on Wednesday. “This pardon gives us a clean slate. The noise is gone. The work remains. And I intend to meet it head on.”

Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that Cuellar had ultimately been targeted for “speaking the TRUTH.”

“Henry, I don’t know you, but you can sleep well tonight — Your nightmare is finally over!” the president added.

Cuellar is expected to have a competitive race in 2026, with the Cook Political Report rating his district as a “toss-up.”

Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott is calling on the Trump administration to strip the largest self-described Muslim civil rights non-profit organization in the United States of its tax-exempt status for its alleged ties to foreign terrorist organizations.

In a letter sent Tuesday to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Abbott requested an investigation into the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ tax-exempt status over alleged ties to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, which President Donald Trump has made moves to designate as a terrorist organization.

Last week, Trump signed an executive order paving the way for his administration to classify certain Muslim Brotherhood chapters as terrorist organizations. He said that “final documents are being drawn” for the designation to be “done in the strongest and most powerful terms.”

Abbott argued that CAIR has been identified by federal investigators and court filings as “a direct subsidiary of the Muslim Brotherhood” and as a “front group” for Hamas in the United States. Abbott emphasized that Hamas has been a U.S.-designated terrorist organization since 1997 and is the Muslim Brotherhood’s Gaza-based branch, which kidnapped and murdered American citizens during the October 7 attack in Israel.

Abbott also cited a recent report that claims CAIR awarded $1,000 cash grants to university students who disrupted classes and intimidated or harassed fellow students “while celebrating Hamas’ October 7th attack.” 

“Americans have generous hearts, and federal law wisely creates incentives to donate to nonprofit organizations that promote the public good,” Abbott wrote. “But charity must not become a backdoor to sponsor terrorism, endanger Americans, and subvert our democracy.”

Under federal law, tax-exempt status must be suspended when a group is listed as a foreign terrorist organization, according to Abbott.

“Domestic organizations created by known terrorist organizations—for the express purpose of supporting and advancing their destructive goals—should clearly be suspended from the benefit of tax-exempt status as 501(c)(3) nonprofits in the United States,” Abbott wrote. 

Last month, Abbott issued a proclamation designating the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as terrorist organizations in Texas, accusing them of seeking to “forcibly impose Sharia law.” Abbott’s order prohibits the groups from purchasing or acquiring property in Texas and subjects affiliates to enhanced state penalties.

“The actions taken by the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR to support terrorism across the globe and subvert our laws through violence, intimidation, and harassment are unacceptable,” Abbott said at the time. “These radical extremists are not welcome in our state and are now prohibited from acquiring any real property interest in Texas.”

CAIR responded by suing Abbott and denying the allegations, claiming it has “consistently condemned all forms of unjust violence, including hate crimes, ethnic cleansing, genocide and terrorism.” 

“Although we are flattered by Greg Abbott’s obsession with our civil rights organization, his publicity stunt masquerading as a proclamation has no basis in fact or law,” the group said. “By defaming a prominent American Muslim institution with debunked conspiracy theories and made-up quotes, Mr. Abbott has once again shown that his top priority is advancing anti-Muslim bigotry, not serving the people of Texas.”

CAIR did not respond to a request for comment.