Representative Henry Cuellar (D-TX) announced he has filed for reelection and will not switch parties, following a pardon from President Donald Trump, as confirmed by Punchbowl News and reported by PollTracker2024 on December 3rd, 2025. Separately, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan issued a subpoena for Special Counsel Jack Smith to appear for a deposition on December 17th, according to AZ Intel. The Pentagon's Inspector General has also turned over a classified version of its probe into Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's alleged violation of secrecy rules to the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), with Senator Mark Kelly stating that much of the report is unclassified and contradicts Hegseth's claims of innocence. Cuellar's announcement came shortly after news of his pardon by President Trump, which was initially reported via Trump's Truth Social account. Jake Sherman and Ally Mutnick of The Hill reported that Cuellar stated "Nothing has changed" regarding his party affiliation when asked about switching parties. In parallel, the House began up to one hour of debate on H.R. 1005, the "Combating the Lies of Authoritarians in School Systems Act," sponsored by Representative Dave Joyce. The U.S. DOT also released its "2025 Wrapped" summary of its accomplishments. Regarding the Hegseth investigation, Senator Kelly reviewed the "Signalgate" IG report and recommended better training for senior DOD officials on classified information. Meanwhile, Senator Roger Marshall defended a recent strike on drug boats, stating, "we're losing 200 Americans every day to drug poisoning from these drug lords. This is a war. And it's ugly. War is never pretty ... that strike probably saved thousands of American lives." Kristi Noem confirmed the boats were carrying cocaine, adding that fentanyl precursors are made in China, manufactured in Mexico, and smuggled by U.S. citizens. In international news, the House Foreign GOP expressed opposition to the U.K. potentially rewarding Communist China with a crown jewel embassy in London, stating it would embolden Beijing and raise security concerns. The proposal for the embassy faces a delay, according to ABC News. Additionally, an article from The Atlantic, shared by Byron York, features Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro's reaction to reading what Kamala Harris wrote about him in her book.
