Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of Ted Cruz’s harshest Republican critics, said Thursday that he’s backing the Texan’s White House bid.

The announcement comes as establishment Republicans desperately search for ways to slow the momentum of front-runner Donald Trump.

“The bottom line is that I believe Donald Trump would be a disaster for the party,” the South Carolina senator said on Capitol Hill.

“I don’t think he’s a Republican. I don’t think he’s a reliable conservative. I think his campaign’s been based on xenophobia, race baiting and religious bigotry.”

“I think the damage he would do the party would be enormous, and I don’t think he’s qualified to be commander in chief.”

Just a month earlier, Graham joked about Cruz’s unpopularity among his peers.

“If you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate and the trial was in the Senate, nobody could convict you,” Graham had said.

He later said, “When I joked about killing my distinguished colleague, that didn’t mean I was opposed to him becoming president.”