Politico on Thursday published a note to readers clarifying how its subscription model works as it faces a flurry of attacks from critics, including President Trump, who have accused it of benefiting from taxpayer dollars, specifically the funding of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
“POLITICO has been the subject of debate on X this week. Some of it has been misinformed, and some of it has been flat-out false. Let’s set the record straight,” the outlet wrote as part of a memo published on its website. “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 note comes in response to social media posts and public statements from Trump, billionaire Elon Musk and others who have expressed outrage that a large number of government agencies and federal employees subscribe to Politico’s expensive “Pro” news content.
The expenditures were revealed this week as part of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency work to reform major federal departments including USAID.
It is common for federal agencies to allow employees to expense subscriptions to newspapers, wire services and other media outlets as a function of their jobs, while subscriptions to niche content in a specific policy area can costs thousands of dollars a year.
Most Politico Pro subscribers are in the private sector, the company said on Thursday, and come from across the ideological spectrum, with a renewal rate of around 90 percent every year “because they rely on our reporting, data, and insights.”
“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,” the outlet said. “Let’s be clear: POLITICO has no financial dependence on the government and no hidden agenda. We cover politics and policy — that’s our job.”
