Rep. Terri A. Sewell, Alabama’s lone Democratic congresswoman, released a statement praising President Joe Biden after he announced he would not seek reelection this year and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee in the 2024 presidential election.

“President Joe Biden will go down in history as one of the most consequential and transformational leaders America has ever seen,” Sewell said in the statement. “At a time of great uncertainty, President Biden rescued our nation from a pandemic, beat back attacks on our democracy, and restored decency to the White House. I was proud to work alongside him to deliver billions of dollars in infrastructure investments to Alabama, lower health care and prescription drug costs, cancel student debt, and so much more.

“November’s election remains the most critical of our lifetime, when our rights and freedoms hang in the balance. For the sake of our democracy, we as Democrats should come together, follow President Biden’s lead, and unite behind Kamala Harris as our nominee.”

Sewell then emphatically endorsed Harris and said she plans to help her beat former President Donald Trump in November.

“I plan to do everything in my power, from now until November, to make Kamala Harris the next President of the United States,” Sewell said.

Biden dropped out of the 2024 race for the White House on Sunday, ending his bid for reelection following a disastrous debate with Donald Trump that raised doubts about his fitness for office just four months before the election.

The decision comes after escalating pressure from Biden’s Democratic allies to step aside following the June 27 debate, in which the 81-year-old president trailed off, often gave nonsensical answers and failed to call out the former president’s many falsehoods.

Biden plans to serve out the remainder of his term in office, which ends at noon ET on Jan. 20, 2025.

“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” Biden wrote in a letter posted to his X account.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.