U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., will no longer be speaking at the Women's Convention in Detroit next week.

In a statement, Sanders apologized to event organizers for not being able to attend and said he would instead be visiting Puerto Rico to speak with San Juan Mayor Carmin Yulin Cruz and other officials regarding hurricane relief efforts.

"The U.S. Congress cannot turn its back on the millions of people in Puerto Rico who, four weeks after the hurricane, are still without electricity, food and running water," Sanders said in the statement. "My best wishes for a very successful conference."

Sanders was announced as a speaker at the Women's Convention last week. Organizers said he was chosen in part because of his stance on progressive issues and his success with rallying young voters in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary.

But backlash to the decision began almost immediately, with many women questioning why Sanders, a white man, was chosen to speak at the Women's Convention. A petition signed by more than 11,000 people asking convention organizers to reconsider his role said the decision was "very disappointing."

"We feel that by inviting Sen. Sanders, the organizers of the Women's Convention have turned their backs on any sense of unity that the Women's March embodied in order to further one person's political career," the petition read.

Responding to the backlash, Women's Convention organizers announced earlier this week that Michigan U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow would be the convention's opening speaker, and that Michigan Congresswomen Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, and Brenda Lawrence, D-Southfield, would also play key roles at the event.

The statement said Sanders would not be opening or headlining the convention, but would instead be part of a speaking panel.

"We know it has been a painful week for women across the nation. We realize we added to that pain when we announced Senator Sanders as a speaker at the Women's Convention, and that our announcement gave the impression that he is occupying a central role at the convention," the statement read.

60+ trailblazing women speakers will be joining us at the #WomensConvention beginning 10 days from today in Detroit. #ReclaimingOurTime pic.twitter.com/2Gym7UoC9x — Women's March (@womensmarch) October 17, 2017

So excited to join you! https://t.co/XuQSfIrK8B — Sen. Debbie Stabenow (@SenStabenow) October 18, 2017

The Women's Convention is set to run from Oct. 27-29 and was organized by the Women's March, the group behind the Women's March on Washington in January and concurrent events that were held throughout the country.

Other speakers with Michigan ties include Michigan gubernatorial candidates Gretchen Whitmer and Abdul El-Sayed, former Michigan state Rep. Rashida Tlaib and sitting state Rep. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit. A full list of speakers can be found on the Women's Convention website.

General admission for the convention is $295 per person, with a youth and student rate of $125 per person. Single-day tickets for Friday and Saturday are $125, and single-day tickets for Sunday are $75.