Although the presidential race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris is throat and neck, Washington Post has decided not to make a presidential endorsement for the first time in 36 years, the publisher and CEO announced Friday.

“We are returning to our roots of not endorsing presidential candidates,” Will Lewis wrote in an opinion published on the newspaper’s website. He referred to the newspaper’s policies in the decades before 1976, when, after the Watergate scandal that Post broke, it endorsed Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter. The last time the Post did not endorse a presidential candidate in the general election was 1988, according to a search of its archives.

Colleagues learned the news from the editorial page editor, David Shipley, at a tense meeting shortly before Lewis’ announcement. The meeting was marked by someone with direct knowledge of discussions on condition of anonymity to speak about internal matters.

Shipley said he told other editors Thursday by management that there would be no support, even though he has known that for weeks. He added that he “owns” this decision. The reason he cited was to create “independent space” where the paper doesn’t tell people who to vote for.

Colleagues were said to be “shocked” and equally negative. Post Company spokespeople did not respond to multiple messages left by NPR on the subject.

Previous Washington Post Executive editor Martin Baron, who led the newsroom to acclaim during Trump’s presidency, sharply condemned the decision.

“This is cowardice, a moment of darkness that will leave democracy a casualty,” Baron said in a statement to NPR. “Donald Trump will celebrate this as an invitation to further intimidate The Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos (and other media owners). The story will mark a disturbing chapter of spinelessness at an institution known for courage.”

A similar decision by Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong led this week to the resignation of the newspaper’s editorial editor and two editorial members. Soon-Shiong said he had asked the editors to prepare a “factual analysis” of Trump and Harris’ policies and plans. In her resignation letter, editorial editor Mariel Garza said the decision made the paper look “craving and hypocritical,” given its past reporting and editorials on Trump.

The PostThe investigative team has routinely reported on misconduct and allegations of illegality by former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee and his associates. The editorial board, which is run apart from the newsroom, has repeatedly declared that Trump’s actions in office and his rhetoric as a candidate have made him unfit for office.

It has particularly focused on what he did in January 2021 to encourage his supporters to deny the formal certification of President Biden’s election.

The opportunity to Post can withhold a recommendation was first reported by Oliver Darcy’s newsletter Status. Even before Friday’s announcement, the potential lack of a newsroom sparked consternation from journalists within Postwho see it as a major American publication that must weigh in on the most pressing issue of the day.

Post owner Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder and one of the world’s richest people, has major contracts with the federal government in his other business operations, with billions of dollars affecting Amazon’s shipping and cloud services as well as his space company Blue Origin.

He brought in Lewis, who has significant conservative bonafides, as publisher and CEO in January. Lewis held the same role at Rupert Murdoch’s The Wall Street Journal; served as editor of the London-based Telegraphwhich is closely allied with the Tory party; and was a consultant to Conservative Boris Johnson when Johnson was UK Prime Minister.

Colleagues have told NPR that Bezos chose Lewis in part for his ability to get along with powerful conservative figures, including Murdoch.