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Postmaster general postpones retirement as board continues search for successor

The Postal Service’s search for a new leader to improve its financial outlook will take longer than expected, but outgoing Postmaster General Megan Brennan ha...

Jory Heckman@jheckmanWFED

January 6, 2020 2:30 pm

1 min read

The Postal Service’s search for a new leader to improve its financial outlook will take longer than expected, but outgoing Postmaster General Megan Brennan has agreed to postpone her retirement date pending the selection of her successor.

Brennan announced in October that she would step down from the top USPS job at the end of this month, but the agency announced Monday that she would stay on the job while the USPS Board of Governors conducts as “thorough, nationwide search for a successor.”

Board Chairman Robert Duncan, following Brennan’s announcement in October, said he expected a “seamless transition in leadership” following the holiday season. But in a statement Monday, he offered no updates into how that search process has been going.

“We are grateful to the Postmaster General for her continued commitment to the Postal Service, and share her confidence in the Postal Service’s strong leadership team members who will ensure that we continue to deliver for the American people,” Duncan said.

Postal Governor John McLeod Barger said at a November board meeting that the board has hired the firm Russell, Reynolds and Associates to lead the search for a new postmaster general.

A USPS spokesman told Federal News Network that “there is no set date” by which the board must complete its search for a new postmaster general, but said the governors will make an announcement “when it is appropriate to do so.”

The board since August has had enough presidentially appointed members to reach a quorum, the panel has gotten to work on two major objectives: finding a new postmaster general and crafting a long-term strategic business plan.