President Obama made it abundantly clear that Rep. Keith Ellison is not his first choice for the next chair of the Democratic National Committee. He all but endorsed his Labor Secretary, Thomas Perez, for the position during a press conference last week. He concluded his remarks, saying, “Now, others who have declared are also my friends, and are fine people as well, and the great thing is, I don’t have a vote in this.”

He’s right. President Obama does not and should not have a vote in this. However, on his way out, he is interfering during a delicate transition period for the Democratic party. With endorsements from progressives like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and Clinton loyalists like Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer, Keith Ellison can serve as a critical figure for uniting the party after the tough elections. And yet, the President’s administration is compromising party reconciliation by saying they know best, even though under their leadership, the party has lost 870 legislative seats across the country in the past eight years.

Thomas Perez is not a bad pick. He has fought for regulations expanding overtime pay and increasing protections for retirement accounts. But Perez argued in favor of TPP, saying, “trade agreements like TPP, are critical to our 21st-century competitiveness,” despite previous free trade agreements that resulted in lost jobs, stagnant wages, and increasing inequality. When asked why he supported the TPP when so many labor unions opposed it, he had no good answer. In a leaked email, Perez advised the Hillary Clinton campaign to frame Bernie Sander’s campaign only doing well with “young white liberals,” even though Sanders’ campaign did better than the Clinton campaign with young minority voters.

Ellison, on the other hand, is a career leader and organizer. He spent years working as a pro bono attorney for low-income and disadvantaged families. As an elected official, he joins political protests and walks with striking workers. His grassroots campaigning has earned his district one of the highest voter turnouts in the country.

Ellison hasn’t shied away from standing up to party leadership. He urged the Obama administration to stop the “aggressive” home raids and deportations of undocumented Americans. He opposed the “Grand Bargain” with Republicans proposed by Obama administration that involved cuts to Social Security benefits. And, he spoke out against the TPP, arguing that it would undermine Americans workers.

In his platform, Ellison calls for superdelegate reform; Perez makes no mention of superdelegates in his platform. Ellison wants to ensure that young Democrats have a “seat at the table, DNC financial support, and an expanded voice in decision making.” He proposes taking on labor as a full partner and increasing engagement with working voters through “roundtables, listening sessions, and direct voter contact in areas where Democrats [are] underperforming.” And Ellison plans on small donor contributions to the DNC account for at least 33% of its revenue. Perez, on the other hand, makes no mention of including voices from young or working voters. Instead, he seems to focus on empowering state parties rather than the voters.