The Trump administration and DOGE chief Elon Musk are making swift and numerous moves to try to winnow the federal workforce (offering possibly illegal deferred resignation “buyouts”) and essentially reconfigure how the government functions, including virtually shutting down some established federal bureaucracies.
The DOGE move that has drawn the most scrutiny — and been executed the fastest — so far is the effort to completely shut down USAID, an agency with an approximately $40 billion annual budget that distributes foreign aid from the U.S.
[The official government USAID site currently informs visitors: “On Friday, February 7, 2025, at 11:59 pm (EST) all USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs.”]
In support of Musk’s claims that USAID is a hornet’s nest of “waste, fraud, and abuse” — and to implicate media the administration considers unfriendly in this characterization — White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a press conference Wednesday that Politico, a much-read DC-based media operation focused on politics, had received money from USAID.
(Leavitt’s implication is that a media outlet cannot report without bias on an entity from which it receives payments.)
“I was made aware of funding from USAID to media outlets including Politico, who I know has a seat in this room,” Leavitt said.
The Press Secretary added, “I can confirm that over $8 million in taxpayers money that have gone to essentially subsiding subscriptions to Politico on the taxpayer’s dime will no longer be happening, and the DOGE team is working on cancelling those subscriptions now.”
Politico responded Thursday in an effort to set the record straight, though it presented what DOGE and MAGA will doubtless characterize as a distinction without a difference.
“POLITICO is a privately owned company. We have never received any government funding—no subsidies, no grants, no handouts. Not one dime, ever, in 18 years,” the company wrote.
“POLITICO Pro is different. It is a professional subscription service used by companies, organizations, and, yes, some government agencies. They subscribe because it makes them better at their jobs—helping them track policy, legislation, and regulations in real-time with news, intelligence, and a suite of data products.”
If, as Leavitt claims, Musk and DOGE found $8 million moving from the U.S. government to Politico, it was presumably spent for access to the Pro product, which lawmakers and others ostensibly use to become more efficient, not less — something Musk might appreciate as the head of Government Efficiency.
“Track spending bills…save valuable time…quickly access details” are among the benefits the Politico Pro product lists in its sales material.
[NOTE: Politico Pro plans and what they offer — including the opportunity to “become a beltway brainiac” — are shown here. The plans are “customizable” and prices aren’t easily accessed on the website, which provides a chatbot to discuss subscriptions.]
MAGA congresswoman Lauren Boebert (R-CO), who criticized Politico after it published the article ‘What Elon Musk Said Is a Bold-Faced Lie’ regarding Musk’s involvement in shutting down USAID, wrote on X: “LOL. @politico is trying to attack @elonmusk because he’s exposing their grift. NEWS FLASH: No one trusts media funded by the deep state!”
But there’s a twist to Boebert’s trolling. As seen below, Boebert’s congressional office is one of many that have paid for Politico Pro. Since 2021, Boebert’s office has reportedly paid close to $18,000 for the Politico Pro service. Here is a list including congressional members who have also paid for Politico Pro.
Here’s Lauren Boebert’s congressional office paying Politico Pro over the years https://t.co/AHGaWsUd6D pic.twitter.com/T29xtWifJg
— Joe Perticone (@JoePerticone) February 6, 2025
While most POLITICO Pro subscribers are in the private sector, the company states: “Government agencies that subscribe do so through standard public procurement processes—just like any other tool they buy to work smarter and be more efficient. This is not funding. It is a transaction—just as the government buys research, equipment, software, and industry reports. Some online voices are deliberately spreading falsehoods. Let’s be clear: POLITICO has no financial dependence on the government and no hidden agenda.”
That description, however, is enough to placate politicians who feel they’ve been attacked by Politico‘s reporting.
Donald Trump’s new VOA Director Kari Lake wrote: “Politico ran probably no fewer than 50 hit pieces on me over the past three and a half years. It’s such a slap in the face to know that they were doing that to me with MY tax dollars. That’s nothing short of election interference.”