CNN
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The Washington Post has decided to withdraw a print advertisement from two advocacy organizations that demanded the dismissal of Elon Musk from his position leading the Department of Government Efficiency.

The ad, which was canceled, was one of two purchased for $115,000 by Common Cause and the Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund, intended to run on Tuesday. It depicted the White House set against a striking red background with the phrase “Who’s running this country: Donald Trump or Elon Musk?” It further criticized Musk, stating he has “created chaos and confusion” and is “accountable to no one but himself.”

The advertisement notably pointed out, “The Constitution only authorizes one president at a time.”

These advertisements are part of a petition launched by Common Cause and the SPLC, urging the public to pressure US lawmakers into taking action to prevent further disruption. As of this report, the petition has garnered 95,556 signatures.

These campaigns come amid assertions that President Trump has granted Musk considerable authority to reshape the federal workforce while seeking to cut the federal budget, although Trump maintains that Musk operates under his oversight. Musk’s activities have faced some constraints due to ongoing lawsuits, yet speculation persists that he wields significant influence behind the scenes with regards to key government decisions.

After Common Cause submitted the advertisement artwork on February 11, they were informed just three days later that The Post would not proceed with publishing the wrap, a representative from the organization communicated to CNN. The advocacy groups had a contractual agreement with the Post and were awaiting final approval before transferring the funds.

Upon querying The Post about potential adjustments to make the wrap acceptable, they were told simply that the ad could not be published.

“When we sought clarification, they mentioned they couldn’t provide specific reasons but expressed an interest in not forfeiting the entire commission, indicating they wanted to proceed with the interior ad,” the spokesperson remarked. “The interior ad posed no issues.”

The alternative advertisement, intended for the inside of the Tuesday edition, reiterated the message of the wrap, featuring a large image of Musk accompanied by the words “no one elected Elon Musk to any office.” Although The Post was willing to include this inside ad, Common Cause ultimately decided against it and withdrew from the arrangement.

The Post typically refrains from commenting on its internal advertising decisions and declined to disclose whether Jeff Bezos influenced this particular decision. However, the newspaper’s advertising policy states that it “maintains the right to place, modify, or reject any advertisement that fails to align with the outlined guidelines, or for other considerations.”

Virginia Kase Solomon, president and CEO of Common Cause, expressed to CNN that she found The Post’s decision “worrisome,” noting that the paper, which champions the phrase “Democracy dies in the dark,” “appears to forget that democracy suffers when a free press operates from a stance of trepidation or compliance.”

“We are now compelled to question if The Washington Post — a cornerstone of investigative journalism during the Watergate era — is hesitant to confront those in authority,” Solomon remarked. “Concerns regarding corporate sway over press freedom have intensified under Jeff Bezos’ leadership, and this decision raises critical doubts about the paper’s autonomy.”

“If a prestigious publication like this capitulates to external pressures, what can we expect from smaller, local newspapers?” Solomon questioned. “During a period when the free press is already vulnerable, we must not allow political or corporate forces to dictate the narratives that are told.”

The withdrawal of the high-impact wrap ad, which would have prominently struck the attention of readers, aligns with Trump’s directive to terminate subscriptions for media outlets he finds unfavorable, including Politico and the Associated Press. The administration’s tension with the AP intensified when the outlet resisted referring to the “Gulf of Mexico” as the “Gulf of America,” resulting in an indefinite exclusion of the AP from the Oval Office and Air Force One.

The striking anti-Musk wrap was expected to reach approximately 500 White House subscribers who opted for this type of advertisement, according to a Common Cause spokesperson. Running the ad could have placed The Post — struggling financially after a significant number of subscription cancellations in October, following Bezos’ decision to thwart an endorsement for Kamala Harris — directly in the administration’s line of fire.