Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe announces retirement

WASHINGTON - Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe announced his retirement Friday amid annual Postal Service losses surpassing $5 billion and ongoing battles with Congress over cost-cutting moves, including ending Saturday delivery.

He will be succeeded Feb. 1 by agency veteran Megan Brennan, who will become the first female postmaster general.

"We have grown our revenue for two years in a row, primarily through growth in our package business and price changes," Donahue said Friday. "While we still have major issues to resolve with regard to our business model and legislative constraints, our message today is about momentum and progress."

The board met as hundreds of disgruntled postal workers demonstrated outside the agency's headquarters over post office closings. Several dozen attended the public meeting but did not disrupt the session.

Donahoe, who has spent 39 years with the Postal Service, took over the agency during a serious financial crisis and oversaw a restructuring as the service sought to deal with sharp declines in the volume of first-class mail.

"Pat was the calm in the financial storm. He ignored the naysayers and went forward with his team and built a comprehensive plan for the future of the organization, made tough decisions and executed those decisions," said Mickey D. Barnett, chairman of the Board of Postal Governors.

Donahoe's retirement announcement came as the agency reported a $569 million revenue increase in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, but an overall loss for the year of $5.5 billion.

Donahoe said there was still more to be done.

"The organization has a lot of momentum right now, and we're doing a lot to innovate and improve the way we serve the public and our customers," he said.

Brennan, the Postal Service's chief operating officer and executive vice president, told the board being promoted to postmaster general was the "honor of a lifetime, especially for one who comes from a postal family."