Last Updated on February 10, 2025
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has exposed, and ended, an $8 million dollar tax-payer-funded subsidy paid to Politico by USAID.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt revealed that several media outlets, such as Politico, were recipients of funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The decision to defund USAID likely stems from recent findings by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Agency (DOGE).
Records from usaspending.gov indicate that Politico received around $8.4 million in taxpayer money for the 12 months ending on September 30, 2024, with the current contract totaling $8.2 million.
Leavitt acknowledged the situation, saying, “I have been informed that USAID allocated funds to media organizations like Politico, a familiar presence in this press room. It has been verified that more than $8 million of public funds were utilized to support subscriptions, essentially using taxpayer money. This practice will cease as the DOGE team is actively working to terminate these disbursements.”
Leavitt explained that this move is part of a broader government-wide effort to carefully evaluate federal spending. “The president and his team are committed to making decisions across the board,” she said.
.@PressSec: “I can confirm that the more than $8 million taxpayer dollars that have gone to essentially subsidizing subscriptions to Politico on the American taxpayers’ dime will no longer be happening.” pic.twitter.com/9uA1imuKtt
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 5, 2025
Leavitt outlined that future spending decisions will hinge on two key questions: “Does this serve the interests of the American people? Is this a responsible use of taxpayer dollars?”
USAID has been under fire since DOGE audits began to reveal the wasteful mismanagement of tax-payer funds committed by the government agency. In light of recent revelations, it has become clear that USAID, whose budgets exceed that of the CIA and FBI combined, has acted as a kind of federal slush-fund for the global promotion of progressive agendas. The advancement of LGBTQ initiatives in Uganda and a “DEI musical” in Ireland, have been among the recipient initiatives of USAID – to the tune of millions.
Politico, a news outlet acquired by a German media company for around $1 billion in 2021, is known for its left-leaning political coverage. Politico’s articles, which are usually sympathetic to Democrat positions and antagonistic towards Republicans, are widely read by Washington insiders, including lobbyists and legislators.
Earlier Wednesday, Musk took to X, the platform he owns, to criticize the subscriptions, writing, “Not an efficient use of taxpayer funds. This wasteful expenditure will be deleted.” He also suggested that other media outlets could face similar cuts, adding in another post, “Many media outlets are going to experience a mysterious drop in revenue.”
Following these revelations multiple left-leaning news outlets, including CNN and Axios, have responded with incredulity; writing articles which seek to poke holes in the implications of the scandal by appealing to nuance. Politico has not yet responded to the claims made by DOGE and the White House.
