Politico’s leadership has denied it receives taxpayer funds to subsidize its subscriptions after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the newly minted Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will be cutting its funding.
During a White House press briefing Wednesday, Leavitt said she had been informed that taxpayer funds from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) topping over $8 million, had been given to Politico and other media news outlets.
“So, upon my coming out here to the briefing room, I was made aware of the funding from USAID to media outlets, including Politico, who I know has a seat in this room,” Leavitt said. “I can confirm that the more than $8 million taxpayer dollars that have essentially gone to subsidizing subscriptions to Politico on the American taxpayer’s dime, will no longer be happening.”
Leavitt added the DOGE team — overseen by billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk — is working to make sure American taxpayers are no longer paying for things that do not serve them.
“The DOGE team is working on cancelling those payments now. Again, 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.”
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Former speech writer Sam Lyman, said in a post on X that when he was as speech writer for former Sen. Orrin Hatch, that every reporter had Politico Pro “by default” and noted he never signed up for it, nor did he ever use it, according to the Western Journal.
However, Politico has denied they have received $8.2 million in USAID funding, with the Daily Dispatch reporting Politico only received $44,000 in total from USAID between 2016 and 2025.
Politico leadership further denied it is a USAID beneficiary, after Politico’s CEO Goli Sheikholeslami and editor-in-chief John Harris released a joint statement obtained by Fox News Digital, denying the allegations, according to Fox News.
“As surely many of you saw today, there was a spirited discussion at the White House and among officials connected to the Department of Government Efficiency on the subject of government subscriptions for journalism products, at POLITICO and other news organizations,” the statement said. “This is a fine conversation to have, and we welcome it. The value of POLITICO subscriptions is validated daily in the marketplace. Some parts of today’s conversation, however, were confusing and left some people with false understandings. For this reason, we want you to hear from us on several points.”
The statement further stressed that Politico “has never been a beneficiary of government programs or subsidies — not one cent, ever, in 18 years” and touted that its subscription service Politico Pro “provides both private and public sector clients with granular, fact-based reporting, real-time intelligence, and tracking tools across key policy areas.”
“We are proud of the value our POLITICO Pro platform and policy journalism gives to all subscribers. As a practical matter, the overwhelming majority of our professional subscriptions under POLITICO Pro are in the private sector,” they wrote, adding, “We believe the work of a new administration — and the work being done by DOGE — is a hugely important story. In particular because of the ambition of the new administration to transform large sections of the government, our responsibility to cover this from every angle is urgent.”
The BBC also released a statement on the funding, after it was exposed that the media company based in the U.K. had also received funds from USAID.
“A free press is essential to freedom and democracy – and 75% of countries around the world do not have a free press. BBC Media Action supports local media around the world to deliver trusted information to people most in need,” the statement reads.
“Like many international development organizations, BBC Media Action has been affected by the temporary pause in U.S. government funding, which amounts to about 8% of our income in 2023-24. We’re doing everything we can to minimize the impact on our partners and the people we serve. As the BBC’s international charity, we are completely separate from BBC News, and wholly reliant on our donors and supporters to carry out our work.”
