Sgt. Jerry W. Reese II, left, and Master Sgt. Jose N. Santiago, both from the 2nd Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, read Stars and Stripes at a U.S. Army aviation base camp near An-Najaf, Iraq, in April 2003. (Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — The House Armed Services Committee has sent two requests to the Defense Department asking how the department will ensure the congressionally mandated independence of Stars and Stripes amid a plan to “refocus” its content, according to two people familiar with the matter.
A bipartisan request was sent after the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson on Thursday posted to the social media site X that it would overhaul the news organization to rid it of “woke distractions that syphon morale, and adapt it to serve a new generation of service members.”
Democratic staff sent a follow-up information request Tuesday after noticing the Pentagon had removed the federal regulation governing the publication.
“We have yet to receive any answers,” a committee staffer speaking on condition of anonymity said Wednesday.
The Pentagon has also not responded to questions from Stars and Stripes requesting details on the planned changes.
The committee staffer said the elimination of the regulation leaves a Department of Defense directive as the only remaining rule addressing the news organization’s editorial independence.
The 1994 directive can be changed on a whim, according to Jacqueline Smith, the ombudsman for Stars and Stripes. The ombudsman role was created in 1991 by the House Armed Services Committee to report to Congress on threats to the Stars and Stripes mission of providing independent news to the military community.
The Defense Department submitted a rule change to the Federal Register last week, writing that the regulation for the newspaper was “unnecessary and may be removed from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) because it does not have an impact or burden to the public.”
The rule change points out that a proposed modernization of the regulation last year drew 88 public comments that broadly supported Stripes’ independence.
Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the committee, said he is asking the Defense Department to explain how it intends to maintain the journalistic independence of Stars and Stripes, as long affirmed by Congress.
He said he is also urging Republicans to “exercise their congressional responsibilities and control of the legislative branch” so that the newspaper can continue to operate independently and provide “millions of U.S. service members and civilian personnel with critical news and information tailored to their unique needs.”
Eight members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, as well as two additional senators, sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week seeking assurances that editorial decisions would not be conditioned on ideological alignment or policy advocacy.
“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,” the senators, all Democrats and Independents, wrote.
