Robinson is the second prominent columnist in a month to depart after newspaper owner Jeff Bezos said he wanted its opinion section to focus on issues of personal liberties and the free market.

Robinson, 71, has worked at the Post since 1980 and been a columnist since 2005, winning a Pulitzer Prize for his work focused on the election of Barack Obama as the nation’s first Black president in 2008.

In a memo to colleagues reported by The New York Times on Thursday, Robinson said the “significant shift” in the opinion section’s mission had encouraged him that it was time to move on.

Last month, columnist Ruth Marcus, who had worked at the newspaper since 1984, resigned after she said management decided not to run her commentary critical of Bezos’ policy. As the Post has faced turmoil in the past year, it has enforced a policy of not letting its staff members write about internal matters.