Members of the Bush family have refused in varying degrees to back Donald Trump for president. But on Saturday, a younger member of the GOP political dynasty – and the only one currently in office – called upon his fellow Republicans to get behind the party's nominee.

George P. Bush , the Texas land commissioner and son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, said it was time to end any bitterness left over from the primaries and focus on defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton in the fall.

"A lot of us in this room had dogs in the fight in the primary leading up to the race, but you know what? It's time to put it aside," Bush, who is the state party's victory chairman, told members of the State Republican Executive Committee and county chairs.

"From Team Bush, it's a bitter pill to swallow, but you know what? You get back up and you help the man that won, and you make sure that we stop Hillary Clinton," he added in remarks filmed by a member of the audience and first reported by The Texas Tribune.

Bush previously refused to support Trump, and came under fire for accepting the state party role without doing so.

But his reticence was hardly surprising, given that Trump often browbeat his father, a rival for the nomination, mocking him as "low energy." Trump also blamed Bush's uncle, former President George W. Bush, for failing to prevent the Sept. 11 attacks.

Both George W. Bush and his father, former President George H.W. Bush, have stayed on the political sidelines during the 2016 campaign, and their silence has been seen as a stunning rebuke in that the Republican Party's only living former presidents have not backed their potential successor.

Last week, George W. Bush also offered a stinging criticism of Trump's policies, without naming him, at a fundraiser for Ohio Sen. Rob Portman.