Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA 11th District) has issued a statement declaring that he will not accept a post within the Trump presidency, opting to remain in the House of Representatives instead.

“It was a tremendous honor for President-elect Trump to ask me to consider taking a place in his administration,” Barletta’s statement read. “After much thought, prayer, and discussion with my family and close friends, I decided today to remain in Congress and I withdrew from consideration for Secretary of Labor.”Barletta met with the president-elect at Trump Tower in New York City on Nov. 29 to discuss some open positions within his cabinet.“It was a great pleasure to meet with President-elect Trump to discuss his transition to office and our mutual goal of moving America forward,” Barletta said in the statement. “We share many priorities for the future of the country, including protecting and growing American jobs, strengthening national security, enforcing our immigration laws, and rejuvenating our crumbling infrastructure system.”Though Barletta has served on Trump’s Transition Team Executive Committee, he opted to keep his House position, where he feels that he can orchestrate more changes. He cited that his long-standing relationship with the incoming administration and involvement with the president-elect’s campaign have uniquely set him up to exact change in his areas of interest, including immigration policy, transportation infrastructure, and jobs.“Having helped the campaign with the development of those policies, coupled with serving on key committees in Congress and having a direct pipeline to the White House, I will be better positioned than ever to serve the people of the 11th District,” Barletta’s statement said.