The Washington Post’s opinion editor, Adam O’Neal, is leaving the broadsheet just a year after he was hired by billionaire owner Jeff Bezos to revamp the opinion section, according to an internal memo obtained by The Post.
O’Neal, a right-leaning journalist who formerly worked for the Economist and the Wall Street Journal, will step down Aug. 31, according to a memo he sent to employees Friday morning.
“I joined The Post to lead the opinion section as it began a new chapter, and we have made dramatic changes over the past year. We quickly embraced our mission of championing free markets and personal liberties while simultaneously putting Post Opinions on a sustainable footing,” O’Neal wrote in the memo.
Washington Post opinion editor Adam O’Neal has stepped down from his position. X/WashPostComms
“While this was not an easy decision, I am leaving proud of how far the opinion section has come and optimistic that its best days lie ahead.”
Acting publisher and CEO Jeff D’Onofrio – who took the helm in February after Will Lewis abruptly stepped down just days after bloodbath layoffs decimated the newsroom – praised O’Neal’s overhaul of the opinion section.
“This past year, under the leadership of Adam O’Neal, Post Opinions has become more balanced in perspective, more financially sustainable and more accessible to readers than ever before,” D’Onofrio wrote in a separate memo to staffers.
“Over the coming weeks, we will work to transition Post Opinions leadership. More to come on that front.”
O’Neal was named opinion editor last June to replace David Shipley, who quit after Bezos announced the section would shift to embrace “free markets and personal liberties” and added three new conservative writers to its ranks.
O’Neal’s tenure got off to a rocky start last August as he reportedly met with the paper’s columnists to share concerns that their work does not fit his vision and suggest they consider accepting the company’s buyout offers.
The Washington Post’s office in Washington, DC. Bloomberg via Getty Images
He then fired at least half a dozen staffers, some of whom learned of their terminations while observing the Jewish high holy day of Yom Kippur – prompting writers to issue complaints to the head of human resources, according to Status reporting.
The Washington Post has been in turmoil since Bezos canceled a planned endorsement of then-Vice President Kamala Harris just before the 2024 presidential election and announced an overhaul of the opinion section after President Trump’s re-election.
A string of high-profile liberal writers and a cartoonist exited the paper while loyal readers canceled their subscriptions en masse – hitting the paper hard as the WaPo, like many other legacy newspapers, was already struggling amid steep declines in web traffic.
In February, the WaPo unleashed a shocking round of layoffs across a third of its newsroom, impacting more than 300 journalists, including nearly its entire sports desk. The company has since quietly rehired some staffers.
Leadership faced intense backlash online as it was criticized for airing reorganization plans that came across as half-baked.
The layoffs followed steep losses of more than $100 million in 2025, after bleeding $100 million in 2024 and $77 million in 2023, according to the Wall Street Journal.