WASHINGTON – Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), a Marine combat veteran,joined group of his colleagues in demanding answers on the Department of Defense’s (DOD) efforts to politicize Stars and Stripes, the military newspaper that has long maintained editorial independence. This follows recent reporting on how Stars and Stripes job applicants have been asked to explain how they would advance the Administration’s policy priorities, and comments from the Pentagon’s top public affairs official on the Department’s plans to overhaul the newspaper.
“We write to express our strong and unwavering support for the continued editorial independence of Stars and Stripes, a publication whose credibility rests on its ability to report freely and impartially on matters affecting the men and women of the United States Armed Forces,” the Senators wrote in a letter to Secretary Pete Hegseth. “…Any diminishing independence of Stars and Stripes is a blow to the public’s legitimate need for information and disrespectful to our military. The paper’s independence is essential to ensuring the American people understand what is happening in our armed forces, and to provide servicemembers with honest, credible reporting rather than filtered or politicized narratives.”
Stars and Stripes was founded in 1861, and Congress has long affirmed the newspaper’s independence.
The Senators continued, “Congress has been clear for decades that Stars and Stripes must be governed by First Amendment principles and insulated from political influence, regardless of which administration is in power. We urge you to immediately clarify that neither hiring practices nor editorial decisions at Stars and Stripes will be conditioned on ideological alignment or policy advocacy, and to reaffirm, publicly and unequivocally, the newspaper’s statutory independence.”
Read the full letter HERE.
“Like thousands of servicemembers and veterans, I read Stars and Stripes when I was in Iraq. Stars and Stripes’ independence is exactly why troops trust it, and the Pentagon’s attempt to take over its editorial decisions undermines that trust. I’ll fight any attempt to turn Stars and Stripes into another mouthpiece for this administration’s propaganda,”saidSenator Gallego.
Last November, Senator Gallego introduced a resolution recognizing the 80th anniversary of Stars and Stripes coverage in the Pacific. In September 2020, Gallego joined a bipartisan letter urging the Department of Defense to reverse its decision to defund Stars and Stripes, and in 2021 he helped secure $15.5 million in funding to ensure its continued operations.
1/16/26