Michigan Republican Rep. Fred Upton won't seek re-election

April 5 (UPI) -- U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, who was among 10 House Republicans voting to impeach President Donald Trump, said Tuesday he will retire at the end of his term and not seeking re-election.

The 68-year-old longtime Michigan representative, of St. Joseph, Mich., made the announcement on the House floor Tuesday morning and in an email to supporters.

"Even the best stories has a last chapter," Upton said. "This is it for me...Thanks, again, to the people of my district who placed their faith and confidence in me all these great years."

Upton, whose term expires on Jan. 3, was otherwise set to face off against Bill Huizenga, of Holland, Mich., who received Trump's "complete and total" endorsement in the primary last month. Upton cited "very positive" poll numbers against Huizenga, but said "it is time to pass the torch," The Detroit News reported.

Still, he did not endorse Huizenga in his floor speech or email to supporters.

Upton represented the the 4th Congressional District from 1987 to 1993, and since then, has represented Michigan's 6th District.

He had campaigned on bipartisan wins, including measures to clean up the Great Lakes and the 21st Century Cures bill to speed medical innovation and treatments, signed by former President Barack Obama.

Upton noted that the Cures legislation allowed the federal government to grant emergency use approval to produce COVID-19 vaccines.

He also formerly chaired the Committee on Energy and Commerce and worked in the Office of Management and Budget during the Reagan administration.

U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, his Democratic colleague of Dearborn, Mich., thanked him for his service from the House floor.

"It is his civility that I and Congress will miss the most," Dingell said. "Fred really believed that he was an American first, that reaching across the aisle was important, that working together is how we get things done for the American people."

"His retiring is a loss for this country and especially the people of Michigan," she added.

Upton faced backlash from Trump and death threats after voting with nine other Republicans to impeach the former president on a charge of inciting the U.S. Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.

Upton also faced death threats after he supported the bipartisan infrastructure bill for allowing President Joe Biden a legislative victory.

After the 2020 Census, Upton was drawn into Michigan's new 4th District by the state redistricting commission to compete against Huizenga in the primary.

Trump was acquitted in the historic second impeachment trial after the Senate voted 57-43 to convict him because the Senate needed a two-thirds supermajority of 67 votes to convict.

Upton voted against Trump's impeachment in his first impeachment trial over abuse of power and obstruction of Congress related to Trump's decision to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine, and pressing Ukraine to investigate Biden, who at the time was competing against him in the presidential race.

The Senate also acquitted Trump in the first impeachment trial.

Upton voted in line with Trump's position about 79% of the time, according to tracking by FiveThirtyEight.