Postmaster General Announces Retirement

Postmaster General John E. Potter announced Monday that he would retire after 32 years with USPS.

Potter is credited with leading the Postal Service through the aftermath of the 2011 anthrax attacks and coming up with a blueprint for planning the agency's future at a time when it faced severe operational challenges. That involved cutting hundreds of thousands of postal jobs.

Potter's retirement comes at a time when USPS faces ongoing serious financial problems. In late September, the Postal Regulatory Commission denied the Postal Service's request for a 5.6 percent emergency rate increase, saying that while USPS was facing an "exigent circumstance" due to the economic recession, the agency had failed to justify the boost. The Postal Service is appealing that decision.

Patrick R. Donahoe, currently deputy postmaster general and chief operating officer, was named to succeed Potter. Donahoe has been with the Postal Service since 1975, when he started as a clerk in Pittsburgh.

Potter, in announcing his departure, praised postal employees. "I fully appreciate their support in maintaining the tradition of trust that dates back to Benjamin Franklin and the founding of our nation," he said. "It is our people that define our organization and it is their dedication and sense of purpose that drives our business."