Dem Rep Henry Cuellar rejects DSA agenda, says socialists are trying to 'use' Democratic Party

Rep. Henry Cuellar issued a warning to his party, claiming the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) organization is "using" the Democratic Party as a temporary vehicle to launch a radical agenda.

Speaking on "Saturday in America," Cuellar argued that DSA candidates hide their more extreme platform ideas behind softer talking points to win Democratic seats.

"They're trying to use the safe Democratic seats to run in. And they also know that the Democratic Party is inadequate, but they're using us or trying to use the Democratic Party as a vehicle so later they can set up their own platform," Cuellar said.

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The Texas representative called on fellow Democrats to openly reject the DSA’s positions, including what he called more extreme views such as restructuring the Supreme Court and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

"As a Democrat, I reject what the DSA is doing. I read their platform, and it is radical," Cuellar said.

Fox News Digital reached out to the DSA for comment. 

"They want to... get rid of the Senate. So constitutional changes there. They want to get rid of ICE. I reject that. They want to defund police. I reject that, reject also the constitutional items. They want to have open borders also, I reject that. They want to get rid of prisons. I reject that," he said.

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He noted that Democratic socialist candidates don’t often discuss those agenda items, instead winning people over by focusing on issues of affordability, housing and the cost of living.

"They’re trying to use the Democratic Party. They're not talking about those radical positions. They're talking about affordability and housing, things that sound good, but we as Democrats, we reject that radical faction," Cuellar said.

"They don't even have their own party, but they're trying to use the Democrat Party... I reject them completely," he added.

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He noted he has firsthand experience being primaried by socialists. He said the DSA and Justice Democrats spent over $20 million against him in two past primaries, which he said he won by running on strong border security and supporting oil and gas jobs.

"I defeated them and what I did, I stood for Border Patrol, I stood strong border security, I stood up for oil and gas in a Democratic primary. And guess what? The Democratic voters in my district said yes and said no to the radical position," he said.

Cuellar’s warnings come after several Democratic socialists won major elections, including in New York and Colorado. In Colorado, a new candidate backed by the DSA, Melat Kiros, pulled off an upset. She beat longtime Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette in Denver's heavily Democratic district.

In late June, a group of far-left candidates won their elections in New York, too. They were backed by New York City’s Democratic socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani. The winners included newcomer Darializa Avila Chevalier, who beat powerful Rep. Adriano Espaillat, and Brad Lander, who defeated Rep. Dan Goldman.