U.S. Postmaster General Megan Brennan, who butted heads with President Donald Trump over U.S. Postal Service finances, announced she’ll be retiring early next year. Brennan, who became the first woman to lead the postal service when she took up the mantle of U.S. postmaster general in 2015, will step down on Jan. 31, she said in a statement Wednesday. A former letter carrier, Brennan steadily rose to the top of the postal agency over a 33-year career. Trump repeatedly told aides earlier this year that he wanted to remove Brennan, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. The president had “complained to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin about his frustrations with Brennan,” the paper reported, citing a source familiar with the discussions.

ASSOCIATED PRESS In this Sept. 15, 2011 file photo, Postmaster General Megan Brennan is seen in Washington.

A White House spokesman refuted the suggestion that Brennan’s retirement had anything to do with Trump, telling the Post that “this insinuation is so false that no one had the guts to go on the record with it.” The Postal Service and Brennan herself characterized her impending departure as a run-of-the-mill retirement. “When I was appointed Postmaster General, I made a commitment to the Board of Governors that I would serve for five years and it has been my absolute honor to do so,” Brennan, who is 57, said in a statement on Wednesday. “I feel a deep responsibility to this organization and to its future.” Brennan also expressed deep gratitude to the employees of the postal agency. “I have had the privilege to work with you over the course of my 33-year career. You embody the spirit of public service, you earn the trust of the American people every day, and you continually reinforce my reverence for this institution and my abiding belief in our mission,” she said.

BREAKING: @USPS Postmaster General Megan Brennan announces retirement after a 33-year career at the agency. Board of Governors will look for a successor "in the months to come." pic.twitter.com/2ZDVc22ACY — Jory Heckman (@jheckmanWFED) October 16, 2019

The Postal Service Board of Governors, a majority of whom are Trump appointees, said they’re searching for Brennan’s replacement. Her successor will face the same daunting financial challenges that Brennan encountered. The Postal Service, a quasi-governmental agency that receives no federal funding for operating expenses, has reported net losses for 12 consecutive years. Brennan warned lawmakers in May that the agency could run out of cash by 2024. Trump has repeatedly suggested the Postal Service could boost its coffers if it charges higher shipping rates to online retailers like Amazon, one of USPS’ biggest customers. Trump has lambasted what he’s described as an imbalanced relationship between the retail giant and the Postal Service, which he’s disparaged as Amazon’s “Delivery Boy.”

Why is the United States Post Office, which is losing many billions of dollars a year, while charging Amazon and others so little to deliver their packages, making Amazon richer and the Post Office dumber and poorer? Should be charging MUCH MORE! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 29, 2017

I am right about Amazon costing the United States Post Office massive amounts of money for being their Delivery Boy. Amazon should pay these costs (plus) and not have them bourne by the American Taxpayer. Many billions of dollars. P.O. leaders don’t have a clue (or do they?)! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 3, 2018