President Joe Biden defended his decision to drop out of the presidential race as a necessary step to ensure “the defense of democracy” as he vowed to make abortion and U.S. Supreme Court reform top priorities for the remainder of his term.

Biden delivered a primetime address from the Oval Office Wednesday, three days after he announced via a social media post that he was dropping his reelection bid and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed him as the Democrat nominee for President of the United States.