Top Washington Post columnist leaves paper after 40 years amid editorial shakeup by owner Jeff Bezos

Top Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus resigned, accusing the paper’s chief executive and publisher Will Lewis of killing her column that criticized owner Jeff Bezos’s mandate to shift opinion columns to focus on libertarian sentiments.

In a letter obtained by NPR, Marcus announced her resignation as a columnist and associate editor after four decades of working for the paper.

“Jeff’s announcement that the opinion section will henceforth not publish views that deviate from the pillars of individual liberties and free markets threatens to break the trust of readers that columnists are writing what they believe, not what the owner has deemed acceptable,” Marcus wrote in the resignation letter.

Marcus explained further that columnists’ freedom to write about whatever topics they choose has been diminished.

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“Will’s decision to not …run the column that I wrote respectfully dissenting from Jeff’s edict – something that I have not experienced in almost two decades of column-writing – underscores that the traditional freedom of columnists to select the topics they wish to address and say what they think has been dangerously eroded,” she wrote.

Marcus’s most recent column was titled “Trump 2.0: The most damaging first two weeks in presidential history,” published on February 4th. She argued, “Trump’s second term is all about curtailing government’s power and reach.”

According to NPR, a spokesperson for the Washington Post sent a statement regarding Marcus’s departure.

“We’re grateful for Ruth’s significant contributions to The Washington Post over the past 40 years,” Marcus said.

“We respect her decision to leave and wish her the best.” The Post added.

The Post did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Marcus’s departure came after Washington Post owner Bezos recently announced some major changes to the outlet’s opinion page. Additionally, he said that the opinion section editor will be stepping down as they introduce the changes.

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“We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets. We’ll cover other topics too of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others,” Bezos wrote on X, announcing the decision.

“I am of America and for America, and proud to be so. Our country did not get here by being typical. And a big part of America’s success has been freedom in the economic realm and everywhere else. Freedom is ethical — it minimizes coercion — and practical — it drives creativity, invention, and prosperity,” Bezos shared.

The paper came under fire after Bezos stopped the editorial page from endorsing former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024, prompting several staffers to leave the paper. 

Staffers fled the Post after the editorial page didn’t endorse Harris. Former columnist Jennifer Rubin left the paper amid the endorsement fallout, as did editor-at-large Robert Kagan.

Liberals also canceled their subscriptions to the Post after its non-endorsement. 

Fox News’ Hannah Panreck contributed to this report.