AFTER THE FACT

Docs Show Anti-Abortion Democrat Asked Staff to Discredit Fired Pregnant Aide

Kristie Small was newly-hired and 28 weeks pregnant when she emailed Henry Cuellar about parental leave. Two months later, she was fired.

Court documents reveal that anti-abortion Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) asked staffers to retroactively help him discredit a pregnant woman he fired in 2018. Kristie Small was newly-hired when she emailed Cuellar about parental leave in 2018, Jezebel reports. When Cuellar replied, he mentioned a 90-day probation policy for new staffers not mentioned in an employee handbook. Two months later, when Small was 28 weeks pregnant, Cuellar fired her, citing poor job performance; Small then sued for sex and pregnancy discrimination. In the suit, Cuellar provided staff letters detailing complaints about Small’s performance, like missing typos in press releases and requesting to occasionally leave work early. But a review of the evidence reveals that the letters were dated after Small filed her lawsuit, indicating Cuellar sought to retroactively collect reasons for firing her. Small and Cuellar settled the suit in 2021.