From the Washington Post's internal announcement, obtained by FishbowlDC:

We are pleased to announce that Joe Davidson will be the new Federal Diary columnist. The Federal Diary has flourished for more than 65 years as a major Post platform, developing a broad and dedicated readership, because it has covered issues that are critical to the lives of federal employees. Joe has exciting plans to ensure that it remains a must read for the federal workforce. His previous jobs have prepared him well for this new position. At the Wall Street Journal, he covered a variety of government agencies and political campaigns and he was also a correspondent in Johannesburg. Before that, he worked in Philadelphia as chief of the City Hall bureau for the Bulletin. More recently, Joe has been an editor on Metro, where he significantly improved the District Extra and later the Religion Page. He also oversaw coverage of D.C. education, one of the city’s biggest stories, and the pope's historic trip to Washington. And he helped bolster religion coverage for the Web by collaborating with the On Faith blog. Joe is also a founding member of the National Association of Black Journalists and was a charter Ethics Fellow at the Poynter Institute.

Oh, and speaking of new appointments? Word on the street is that the Washington Post will name Marcus Brauchli as Len Downie's replacement (with up to three managing editors) tomorrow.