Rj, earlier today, I put out a statement and I wanted you to hear it from me directly: I called on President Biden to step aside as the Democratic nominee for president and lead us through the selection of a new candidate. This was not a decision I came to easily.

President Joe Biden is an incredible public servant. He has honorably served our country for over 50 years. Under his leadership, he has marshaled historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy, rallied our allies and partners to support Ukraine and other democracies around the world, and led the most pro-union administration in history.

Perhaps his greatest accomplishment was defeating Donald Trump, who represented — and continues to represent, an existential threat to democracy at home and abroad.

I ran for office to defend our democracy from extremists like Donald Trump. There is no question that the ultimate task this November is to defeat him at the ballot box and prevent him from implementing his radical Project 2025 plan that would cause immense harm to working families and roll back our fundamental rights and freedoms.

After hearing from supporters and constituents in my district who are united behind this goal and who share my deep concerns for our country’s future, it is clear that the stakes are too high to remain silent.

I know that this is hard, but we have done hard things in pursuit of democracy since the very founding of our nation. This moment calls upon us to do so again.

Because I know he cares about the future of our country, I am asking that President Biden declare he will not run for reelection and help lead us through a process to select a new nominee who will defeat Donald Trump and preserve American democracy this November.

Make no mistake, I will do everything in my power to support the Democratic nominee for President and work to defeat Donald Trump.

Thank you for hearing me out. I will never stop my fight to defend our democracy.

— Mikie