Pentagon officials mulling the firing of military newspaper Stars and Stripes publisher

The Pentagon is considering the removal of the publisher who oversees the military newspaper Stars and Stripes, Fox News Digital has confirmed.

Max Lederer, who has led the paper for 19 years, announced his retirement to staff on Tuesday, saying he intends to step down at the end of September.

However, Pentagon leadership may terminate him beforehand.

One U.S. official familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital his "poor job performance" as publisher is the main factor but that "insubordination pushed it over the edge." CBS News first reported on the potential ouster.

"Max has wasted two decades as publisher while the Stars and Stripes languished under his lethargic, lazy leadership," one Pentagon employee who works closely with Lederer told Fox News Digital.

"He’s a typical slob of a bureaucrat who wastes taxpayer money, never gets held accountable for doing a bad job, and cannot even handle basic tasks like attending meetings or responding to emails.

He should’ve been removed years ago, but that’s government in a nutshell." PENTAGON VOWS TO REFORM MILITARY NEWSPAPER STARS AND STRIPES, REMOVE 'WOKE DISTRACTIONS' Lederer, an Army veteran who joined Stars and Stripes in 1992, told staff he was choosing to retire due to "fundamental" differences he had with Pentagon leadership on the direction of the paper.

"I have thought a great deal about the right time to step aside, and I have concluded that this is it," Lederer wrote, according to a Stars and Stripes report on his retirement.

"I leave with real pride in what we have accomplished together and with complete confidence in what you will accomplish next." "For decades, Max Lederer championed the interests of service members and their families by supporting their access to credible reporting, independent of the military chain of command," Stars and Stripes editor-in-chief Erik Slavin said in a statement.

WASHINGTON POST OPINION EDITOR TO EXIT PAPER AFTER JUST ONE YEAR, STAFF COMPLETELY 'BLINDSIDED' There are competing narratives about whether Stars and Stripes is struggling.

Pentagon sources allege a decline both digitally and in print — claiming from 2019 to 2024, unique visitors to its website fell 30% from 20 million per year to 14 million.

They also say print deliveries also declined in that same period from seven million annually to 6.2 million.

The 2019 stats stem from a 2021 congressional letter sent by Rep.

Jason Crow, D-Colo., and then-Rep.