A trio of Democratic senators voiced concerns Thursday over the Pentagon’s controversial oversight of Stars and Stripes, a military newspaper partially funded by the federal government, after clashes over the publication’s editorial independence and its longtime publisher’s abrupt retirement announcement this week.
Max Lederer, who served as publisher for 19 years, announced his retirement Tuesday in a memo to the news organization’s staff, saying that his “understanding of the value and mission of Stars and Stripes” contrasted in “fundamental ways” from Pentagon leadership’s vision. He elaborated in an interview with Stars and Stripes on Wednesday that he particularly opposed the Pentagon’s plans to shift the outlet to a digital-only format.
Lederer’s announcement is the latest development in a string of turmoil that has engulfed the storied publication, which was originally created during the Civil War and revived during World War I.
Pentagon leadership under the Trump administration canceled the use of news wire services such as The Associated Press and Reuters. They also banned cartoons and other syndicated content. The publication’s ombudsman, Jacqueline Smith, was fired in April after calling the changes an infringement of Stars and Stripes’ editorial independence in an op-ed.
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In a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut), Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire) said they were recently informed that the Department of Defense had assigned an active-duty public affairs officer to serve as deputy for Lederer, reportedly without consultation.
The leadership change, they added, would further erode the publication’s credibility. They requested answers by Aug. 28 as to who appointed the public affairs officer to the position, what the officer’s duties would entail and what safeguards would be put in place to ensure there would be no interference by the Pentagon with the publication’s editorial decisions.
“For generations, American servicemembers, particularly those stationed overseas and in combat zones, have relied on Stars and Stripes for credible and independent news,” the letter read. “That trust depends on preserving a clear separation between independent journalism and the Department’s public affairs apparatus. At this critical moment of leadership transition, that independence must not be compromised.”
On Thursday, CBS News reported that the Pentagon was considering firing Lederer prior to his scheduled retirement.
The Defense Department did not immediately return a request for comment on the lawmakers’ letter, whether it was considering firing Lederer or on the decision-making behind his retirement.
Defense Department spokesperson Sean Parnell said in January that Stars and Stripes was returning to “its original mission.”
“We are bringing Stars & Stripes into the 21st century,” Parnell wrote. “We will modernize its operations, refocus its content away from woke distractions that syphon morale, and adapt it to serve a new generation of service members.”
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