Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., will resign from Congress on Feb. 28. After serving more than eight terms, Harman accepted the position of president and CEO of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Monday.

In this Aug. 26 file photo, Harman attends the Geraldine Ferraro Post Office renaming ceremony in New York. (From the congresswoman's Flickr photostream)

“Hey, who says women in their 60’s are in decline?,” Harman joked.

Talks to hire Harmon began in mid-December and continued into the month of January.

“I have enjoyed the honor of serving in congress over all of these years,” Harmon said. “I am disappointed that we haven’t achieved bipartisanship, but it wasn’t frustration that brought me here. It was the enormous challenge that [the Woodrow Wilson Center] has offered.”

The congresswoman hopes to create a “place in Washington for safe political debates.”

The Woodrow Wilson Center is a non-partisan institution, “engaged in the study of national world affairs,” according to the center’s website.
Congresswoman Harmon did not announce any plans to explicitly endorse any candidates in the special election to replace her..

“I might be asked to play some role before I leave congress,” Harmon said.

After she leaves Congress, however, she wants to come to “a non-partisan center.” “My campaigning days will be in suspension,” Harmon said.