DOGE Cancels Politico's Government Funding After $8 Million in Subscription Contracts Revealed

[littlemissmartypants]

Source: MSN.com

Story by Sean Burch • 1h

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Wednesday that Politico will not receive another dime of taxpayer money after it was revealed that the politics-focused news outlet has taken in more than $8 million via subscriptions and other government contracts.

Leavitt said the Department of Government Efficiency, run by Elon Musk, will handle ending Politico's payments.

Her comment came after X user Adam Townsend posted that Politico had received $8.1 million in taxpayer support. This included several contracts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars for website subscriptions, according to USASpending.gov.



Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/doge-cancels-politico-s-government-funding-after-8-million-in-subscription-contracts-revealed/ar-AA1ytWWr?cvid=c5eb08f3b8dd49529052a535cfbbca8f&ei=26

[sinkingfeeling]

1. So when does Elon end the $ billions in government money shoring up his corporations?

[sakabatou]

2. Can someone say political retribution?

[Coolgoober]

4. Political Retribution

Political Retribution

[Brother Buzz]

12. The 3 R's of the marmalade shartcannon's misadministration

Revenge, retaliation, and retribution

[MichMan]

3. Everyone should now buy a subscription to show support

[cabotnn22]

6. I agree

Best way to show support.

[womanofthehills]

25. A few months ago, I had a post removed from DU

- stating it was removed because Politico was a Republican source. What is it guys?

[MichMan]

28. According to Politico, an annual subscription to E & E News costs in the high four figure range

As a retiree living on SS, way too rich for my blood.

[travelingthrulife]

23. I could do without the daily 'Dems in disarray' screeching from Politico

Funny that they would take out one of their own.

[cabotnn22]

5. Honestly, I think I get this one

If I'm mistaken or if there is some nuance to it, feel free to let me know. Maybe there is something I'm missing. My initial feeling is that an independent news organization shouldn't be the recipients of government funding. I get why NPR and PBS get government funding - but Politico?

[Mark.b2]

7. And if this was happening, what was the USG getting...

In return?

[reACTIONary]

14. I think they are providing subscriptions to employees...

... who have to keep abreast of the news.

I work for a scientific and engineering organization, and it provides us subscriptions to magazines that cover topics relevant to our work. I imagine it might be like that.

[yardwork]

22. It sounds like these were subscription purchases.

A lot of government agencies require people to stay up on the news. I imagine it's part of their jobs. Jobs that are now being eliminated.

[SunSeeker]

31. The subscriptions were for data analytics services by Politico Pro, NOT Politico.

As Heather Cox Richardson explained:

MAGA is amplifying right-wing lies. Today, influencers—including Musk—claimed that USAID secretly bankrolled Politico, claiming that the media site had taken $8 million from USAID. In fact, that sum was not an annual grant, but rather years of subscriptions from across the government to Politico Pro, a pricey subscription service for data and legislative analyses for lobbyists and government officials. “Politico…has never taken a cent of government subsidies or state funding,” said the chief executive officer of its parent company. “[P]eople are paying for… [Politico Pro] because they need the service,” he said. “It’s not subsidies, it’s capitalism.” When Representative Lauren Boebert (R-CO) joined the chorus parroting the lie, fact-checkers noted that her office is a subscriber: it paid $7,150 for a yearlong subscription starting last January.

[Deminpenn]

8. Guess we now know how Politico

got all it's scoops.

I wonder if Musk will pull the plug on all the TVs and cable subscriptions the govt has, too.

[DBoon]

9. So a government office subscribes to a publication that specializes in government news

and somehow there is a problem with this?

This is like bank employees having an office subscription to a financial industry newsletter.

[reACTIONary]

16. I think you nailed it...

.... That's what I was thinking.

[Prairie Gates]

10. Delicious

Maybe Politico will stop being a Trump Party Organ now.

[SunSeeker]

11. How much does Fox/OANN/Newsmax get?

Last edited Wed Feb 5, 2025, 10:46 PM - Edit history (1)

[johnnyfins]

13. "Perfect" question

[maxrandb]

15. Politico kissed Donnie Dipshits ass for years

Politico is to "journalism", as Road-kill Raccoon Stew is to Porterhouse Steak.

This is how Donnie Dipshit treats journalist that fondle his balls, while kissing his ass.

Maybe the rest of the American Press will learn.

STOP CODDLING THE FASCIST FUCKSTICK!!!!

[Bengus81]

24. That's what I'm wondering. Hasn't Politco shifted slowly right over the years?

I remember when it started left leaning,calling out the BS Iraq war etc. I really don't know because I don't follow them that close.

So which way do they lean,or do they lean at all?

[maxrandb]

27. They lean whichever direction the billionaires tell them to

Right now, the corporate owners of "news" have their lips glued to Donnie Dipshits ass. They'll "lean" whichever way he goes.

It's just physics. When lips are glued to an object, they move in the direction of that object.

[DetlefK]

17. REMEMBER THAT POLITICO IS PRO-TRUMP

They style themselves as unbiased, but in 2016 they giddily and happily jumped on the Let's-bash-HRC frenzy bandwagon for no other reason than clicks&views.

Politico is not in the news-business. It's in the outrage&headlines-business.

I have not read a single Politico-article for the last 8 years.

[moniss]

18. Golly gee I wonder how much

X gets?

[Septua]

19. The claim is FALSE

"If they're talking, they're lying." Especially when it's Trump or Musk...Musk spreads propaganda on X faster than a team of fact-checkers can debunk. They throw out numbers and statements but never include the source.
https://thedispatch.com/article/fact-check-politico-usaid-funding/

According to USAspending.gov, an official source for U.S. government expenditure data—and the resource used by Becker in his post—Politico received $8.2 million in total payments from government departments and agencies between fiscal year 2016 and fiscal year 2025. However, only $44,000 of this total came from USAID.

[MichMan]

26. More information on the subscriptions

In September 2023, a staff assistant for the Center for Environment, Energy, and Infrastructure—part of USAID’s Bureau for Development, Democracy, and Innovation—purchased a subscription to E&E for $20,000. According to E&E, prices for its professional subscription packages typically start in the upper four-figure range and vary based on how many users have access to a subscription. Another subscription to E&E was purchased in September 2024 for $24,000 by the Center for Climate Positive Development—an office within USAID’s Bureau for Resilience and Food Security.

[SunSeeker]

30. The subscriptions were for data analytics services by Politico Pro, NOT Politico.

As Heather Cox Richardson explained:

MAGA is amplifying right-wing lies. Today, influencers—including Musk—claimed that USAID secretly bankrolled Politico, claiming that the media site had taken $8 million from USAID. In fact, that sum was not an annual grant, but rather years of subscriptions from across the government to Politico Pro, a pricey subscription service for data and legislative analyses for lobbyists and government officials. “Politico…has never taken a cent of government subsidies or state funding,” said the chief executive officer of its parent company. “[P]eople are paying for… [Politico Pro] because they need the service,” he said. “It’s not subsidies, it’s capitalism.” When Representative Lauren Boebert (R-CO) joined the chorus parroting the lie, fact-checkers noted that her office is a subscriber: it paid $7,150 for a yearlong subscription starting last January.

[33taw]

20. Politico can sue, just like we all have ro.

[Hitorque]

21. Holy fuck that is some incredibly shitty framing from that MSN reporter

Might as well just have reprinted Donnie's press release verbatim

[SunSeeker]

29. This is false. Please edit the OP to note that the subscriptions were for data services by Politico Pro, NOT Politico.

As Heather Cox Richardson explained:

MAGA is amplifying right-wing lies. Today, influencers—including Musk—claimed that USAID secretly bankrolled Politico, claiming that the media site had taken $8 million from USAID. In fact, that sum was not an annual grant, but rather years of subscriptions from across the government to Politico Pro, a pricey subscription service for data and legislative analyses for lobbyists and government officials. “Politico…has never taken a cent of government subsidies or state funding,” said the chief executive officer of its parent company. “[P]eople are paying for… [Politico Pro] because they need the service,” he said. “It’s not subsidies, it’s capitalism.” When Representative Lauren Boebert (R-CO) joined the chorus parroting the lie, fact-checkers noted that her office is a subscriber: it paid $7,150 for a yearlong subscription starting last January.