Patrick R. Donahoe
Patrick R. Donahoe was the 73rd United States Postmaster General, having been appointed to the post on October 25, 2010. A 35-year veteran of the Postal Service, he reported to the Postal Service Board of Governors.Biography
Donahoe is a 1977 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh where he majored in economics. He also graduated from the MIT Sloan School of Management, where he was a Sloan Fellow. Before being Postmaster, Donahoe served as the 19th deputy postmaster general. He entered the Postal Service as a clerk in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
His predecessor, Postmaster General John E. Potter testified before the Senate that if the Postal Service is not able to readjust their payment toward the pre-funding of retiree health benefits, as mandated by the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006, the USPS would be forced to consider cutting delivery to five days per week during the summer months of June, July & August. Donahoe echoed his predecessor's views on five-day delivery when he assumed office in 2011.
On February 6, 2013, Donahoe announced that the Postal Service would implement five-day mail delivery beginning August 5, a move he claimed would save $2 billion annually. Later the same day, the national board of the National Rural Letter Carriers' Association voted unanimously to call for his dismissal. July 16, the House passed the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill, which included language protecting six‐day mail delivery, thereby blocking Donahoe's plan.
Donahoe retired on February 1, 2015 and Megan Brennan, the first female Postmaster General, was appointed as his successor the following February.
