Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-California, announced in a video Thursday that she would be stepping down from the Senate in 2016. This will end her 33-year congressional career defined by her combative spirit and liberal causes.

She explained that reporters had been asking her for months if she planned to run for Senate in 2016, but she chose to have her eldest grandson stand in for them and record her answers on video. On the video, she claimed that the “work is too important” for her to ever retire, but she will not be running again.

A long time supporter of abortion rights and gun control, Boxer said that her decision did not have anything to do with partisan quarreling or her age. She said that she felt as young as she did when she got elected to the Senate. She hinted that her work would continue through her political action committee.

Boxer added that she would have more time to help people in her PAC for a Change community, make sure the Senate seat stays “progressive” and help the “Democratic candidate running for president make history.” She also said that she wants to come home to California. Boxer expressed her gratitude for the people of California and said she was proud that they had believed in her since 1976.

The announcement caught many off-guard including House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. She explained that Boxer had called and asked to speak to her personally before the announcement, but she thought she just “wanted to have dinner.” Pelosi said that Boxer has made giant contributions to the country. She called Boxer’s decision to step down a “big loss for the country” but said that “she knows her timetable.”

President Obama praised Boxer’s work as well. “Barbara Boxer is more than a senator–she’s an institution,” President Obama said. He added that she served “with distinction” and fought for issues “close to their homes and hearts.”

Her decision to leave the Senate was not a complete surprise. Boxer had yet to begin raising money for a re-election campaign and rumors that she wanted to spend more time with her family and that she had grown weary of the commute to Washington surfaced.

Boxer’s end to her run does not mean she will live a life of leisure. In her video Thursday, Boxer said “I will never retire because this is the meaning of my life.”

Her announcement set off a scramble for politicians in the Golden State, which has failed to have an open Senate seat in more than two decades. The 2016 election will test California’s jungle primary. This system was adopted by the state in 2010 and it mandates the top two candidates, despite their party affiliation, face off in the election.

At the end of her announcement, Boxer’s son mentioned that she loves to write rhymes. Here is the part of the rhyme she wrote for this particular occasion: “The Senate is the place where I’ve always made my case for families, the planet and the human race. More than 20 years in a job I love, thanks to California and the Lord above.”