“After months of careful consideration, of prayer and searching my own conscience, I have decided that on Election Day, I will vote for the Republican nominee, Donald Trump.”

With those words in a Facebook post Friday afternoon, Texas Senator Ted Cruz reversed course on a path that saw him pointedly refuse to support Trump after a bitter primary fight and ignore the pleas of many within the GOP to promote party unity.

Cruz offered two reasons for his decision:

First, last year, I promised to support the Republican nominee. And I intend to keep my word.

Second, even though I have had areas of significant disagreement with our nominee, by any measure Hillary Clinton is wholly unacceptable — that’s why I have always been #NeverHillary.

The GOP runner-up then laid out what he said were “six key policy decisions” that informed his decision.

First, and most important, is the Supreme Court. “For anyone concerned about the Bill of Rights — free speech, religious liberty, the Second Amendment — the Court hangs in the balance,” he said. “We are only one justice away from losing our most basic rights.” Cruz added that he’d been looking for specificity on the issue of justices from Trump and today the Trump campaign not only issued a ‘very strong’ list of potential nominees, but made an “explicit commitment to nominate only from that list.”

“Our country is in crisis. Hillary Clinton is manifestly unfit to be president, and her policies would harm millions of Americans. And Donald Trump is the only thing standing in her way.”

Other issues of concern to Cruz were Obamacare, energy, immigration, national security and internet freedom. Just this past Wednesday, Cruz gave kudos to his rival for supporting efforts to “keep the internet free.”

Appreciate @realDonaldTrump’s support of our efforts to keep the internet free: https://t.co/gc4aRustpx

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) September 21, 2016

Today’s announcement is the latest twist in the relationship between Trump and Cruz. Unlike a vast majority of the GOP candidates, Cruz initially embraced Trump, staying out of his line of fire. But when the field narrowed, Cruz finally went on the attack, and things got ugly. Trump, who took to repeatedly calling Cruz “Lyin’ Ted,” threatened to “spill the beans” on his wife and accused his father of being involved in the Kennedy assassination. Cruz made a bold stand against Trump at the Republican National Convention, urging Republicans to “Vote your conscience,” which was taken by Trump’s supporters as an attack on Trump.

Trump declared after the convention that he would not accept Cruz’s endorsement, if Cruz ever did change his mind.

But political reality appears to be reuniting the former BFFs.

According to LifeZette, sources close to the ongoing discussion between the Cruz and Trump camps noted that “Cruz has become seriously concerned about the long-term threats to the Constitution and conservative priorities should Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton win the White House.” Then there’s his own future to consider. Since his “vote your conscience” declaration, Cruz has seen his favorability ratings collapse, had come under mounting pressure to back Trump and may even face a primary challenge in 2018.

Today, Cruz said that his conscience tells him “I must do whatever I can” to stop Hillary Clinton from being elected President. But he also noted the growth he says he’s seen in Donald Trump.

We also have seen, over the past few weeks and months, a Trump campaign focusing more and more on freedom — including emphasizing school choice and the power of economic growth to lift African-Americans and Hispanics to prosperity.

His conclusion:

Our country is in crisis. Hillary Clinton is manifestly unfit to be president, and her policies would harm millions of Americans. And Donald Trump is the only thing standing in her way.

Editor’s Note: You can read Sen. Ted Cruz’s entire Facebook post here.