[Ray Bogan]
The White House said it is cancelling payments to the news outlet Politico, which has received more than $9.5 million in funding from federal agencies over the past year and a half. The payments were discovered by the Department of Government Efficiency as it goes through the federal government’s expenditures.
Leavitt: “I can confirm that the more than $8 million taxpayer that have gone to essentially subsidizing subscriptions to Politico on the American taxpayers dime will no longer be happening.”
In total, Politico received $8.1 million in federal funding in fiscal year 2024 and has received $1.5 million so far in FY 2025. The funding has been provided by the Departments of Health and Human Services ($1.37 million), Interior ($1.35), Energy ($1.29), Agriculture ($552,024), Commerce ($485,572), and others.
The subscriptions appear to be for Politico Pro, which provides news and analysis for individuals and businesses that need to track legislation and regulations. It costs thousands of dollars per year.
Karoline Leavitt: “This is a whole of government effort to ensure that we are going line by line when it comes to the federal government’s books. And this president and his team are making decisions across the board on, do these receipts serve the interests of the American people? Is this a good use of the American taxpayers money?”
According to the All Sides media bias chart, Politico is a left leaning outlet, in line with the New York Times, NPR, and CNN.
Politico is not the only outlet that has received millions of dollars in government funding to pay for subscription fees. The New York Times has received more than $350,000 a year since 2022 and millions dating back to 2008. The Associated Press has received tens of millions for it’s news wire services.