Postmaster General Megan J. Brennan has delayed her planned Jan. 31 retirement as the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) Board of Governors continues to search for a successor, USPS said late Monday.
Brennan, who has held the top USPS job since early 2015, announced her retirement last October. It is unclear how long she will remain beyond Jan. 31, a USPS spokesman said late Monday.
Nine members of the Board of Governors, all of whom are presidential appointees, are tasked with selecting the postmaster general. The postmaster general and the deputy postmaster general round out the 11-member board.
Brennan, 59 and a career USPS employee, has dealt with multibillion-dollar losses during her tenure as the quasi-governmental agency copes with a steady erosion of lucrative first-class and marketing mail volume and revenue due to increasing conversion to digital options. USPS also struggles under the annual multibillion-dollar burden of pre-funding retiree health benefits.
Brennan has faced public criticism from President Donald Trump for her management of the agency, specifically as it applies to what Trump views as giveaway rates to Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), USPS’ largest parcel customer. The administration undertook a postal reform initiative in 2018, but little if anything has come of the report’s recommendations.
