Washington Post suddenly ‘fires’ politics editor after Trump win: report

The Washington Post abruptly fired its politics editor without giving him a reason for the decision, he claimed — the latest change at the left-leaning paper owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

Dan Eggen, a veteran political writer who was named senior politics editor just two years ago, said he was “crushed” after being informed he would be “removed” from his role, according to an email he sent which was received by Lachlan Cartwright.

“I struggled with how to write this message as there is an element of begging to it that is not particularly attractive. But what the hey: I was informed on Monday that I will be stepping down as editor-in-chief of politics at the end of the year. I’ll leave it to others to explain why,” the email reads.

It was not clear whether Eggen will remain with the publication.

A WaPo spokesperson said they do not comment on personnel decisions when contacted by the New York Post on Thursday.

Eggen did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.

At the time of his promotion in 2022, Eggen had worked on the Washington Post’s policy desk for more than a decade and had “established himself as one of our sharpest and most resourceful editors, elevating our daily reporting getting scoops and reporting accountability on some of journalism’s most competitive beats,” the paper said.

His firing as politics editor comes as the WaPo struggles to cope with Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

The publication was shocked by Bezos’ decision to kill an endorsement for Vice President Kamala Harris just weeks before the election. Several veteran employees resigned, including members of the editorial board, and the paper lost about 10% of its total subscribers, over 250,000 people.

Bezos defended the move in an Oct. 28 op-ed, saying the endorsements create a “perception of bias” that the paper was “failing” in its mission to be a reliable source of news.

He reportedly wants to hire more conservative columnists.

The paper — which gained notoriety for its coverage of Watergate — has faced accusations of liberal bias. The Trump campaign alleged in the FEC that WaPo made illegal in-kind contributions to Harris’ campaign after it was reported that the company was paying to push stories critical of Trump on social media platforms.

Earlier this week, WaPo columnist Jen Rubin — who had threatened to quit the paper if Trump won but has since backed down — faced backlash for claiming Republicans “want to kill your kids” in a episode of her podcast.

“You have to boil it down to the nuts and you have to be compassionate. What do I mean pithy? How about this: Republicans want to kill your kids. It’s actually true,” she said in the viral clip.

The Washington Post isn’t the only paper rethinking its approach to political coverage after Trump’s victory.

LA Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, who also blocked his paper from making an endorsement, has vowed that the paper will have a “new editorial board” and promised that “voices from all sides [will] to be heard.”

“If it’s news, it should only be facts, period. And if it’s an opinion, that’s probably a news opinion, and that’s what I now call a voice,” he told Fox News.