diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 257f1807e4..2fcb543167 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -218,7 +218,6 @@ add_custom_target(google-cloud-cpp-protos)
 add_custom_target(doxygen-docs)
 add_custom_target(all-docfx)
 
-find_package(absl CONFIG REQUIRED)
 if (GOOGLE_CLOUD_CPP_ENABLE_GRPC)
     find_package(gRPC REQUIRED QUIET)
     # `Protobuf_PROTOC_EXECUTABLE` is pretty standard. It has been in use by