American Republican Senator Mitt Romney has urged President Joe Biden and his predecessor, Donald Trump, to pave the way for the younger generations by dropping out of the 2024 United States presidential election race.

“Great thing for both Mr Biden, 80 and Mr Trump, 77, to step aside so both parties can pick someone in the next generation”, Mr Romney, 76, told the BBC while announcing he would not seek re-election into Congress when his term elapses in January 2025.

“At the end of another term, I’d be in my mid-80s. Frankly, it’s time for a new generation of leaders,” he said. “While I’m not running for re-election, I’m not retiring from the fight,” the Republican former governor of Massachusetts told reporters on Thursday.

Mr Romney has not ruled out the possibility of entering the 2024 presidential election. He is a vocal critic of Messrs Biden and Trump, the leading candidates to secure the Democratic and Republican nominations, respectively.

The senator, who said he belongs to the “wise arm” of the Republican Party, has been critical of the populist arm championed by Mr Trump, which is arguably the largest portion of the party. He accused them of whinging about “story election” and equaling scores with the Democratic Party instead of critical national issues.

In 2020, Mr Romney, a Republican Party nominee for the 2012 election who lost to Barack Obama, made history when he voted to convict Mr Trump during his impeachment trial and thus became the first senator ever to vote to convict a party member.