The Washington Post said Friday that it would not endorse a candidate in this year's presidential election, breaking with decades of tradition and prompting immediate criticism of the decision.

The newspaper also published an article Friday by two staff reporters that said editorial staff had written an endorsement of Kamala Harris over Donald Trump in the election.

“The decision not to publish was made by the owner of the post – Amazon founder Jeff Bezos,” The Post reported, citing two sources briefed on the events.

Post CEO Will Lewis wrote in an online explanation of the decision: “The Washington Post will not endorse any presidential candidate in this election. Not even in future presidential elections.”

“We are returning to our roots of opposing presidential candidates,” Lewis wrote.

“We recognize that this will be read in a variety of ways, including as
“This is either a tacit endorsement of one candidate, a condemnation of another, or an abdication of responsibility,” he wrote. “It’s inevitable.” We don’t see it that way. We see this as consistent with the values ​​the Post has always stood for and with what we hope for in a leader: character and courage in the service of American ethics, reverence for the rule of law and respect for human freedom in all its aspects aspects. “

The announcement came days after the editor-in-chief of the Los Angeles Times resigned in protest after that paper's owner, Patrick Soon-Shiong, opted not to endorse the president.

Like Bezos, Soon-Shiong is a billionaire.

The Washington Post Guild, the union that represents the newspaper's employees, said in a statement on the social media site that it supports presidential candidates, especially just 11 days before a hugely consequential election.”

“The message from our chief executive, Will Lewis – not the editorial board itself – gives us cause for concern that management has interfered with the work of our editorial board members,” the guild said in the statement responding to the newspaper’s reporting on the Bezos' role in the editorial team referred to the decision.

“We are already seeing cancellations from once-loyal readers,” the guild said. “This decision undermines the work of our members at a time when we should be building, not losing, the trust of our readers.”

Marty Baron, the former editor of the Washington Post, called the newspaper's decision “cowardice, the victim of which is democracy.”

“@realdonaldtrump will see this as an invitation to further intimidate owner @jeffbezos (and others),” Bezos wrote. “Disturbing spinelessness in an institution known for its courage.”

Rep. Ted Lieu, a Democrat from California, wrote in his own tweet about the news: “The first step toward fascism is for the free press to cower in fear.”

This is developing news. Check back for updates.