• by Ray Schultz , February 6, 2025

Politico denies the charge that it is receiving funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the agency that has been at least temporarily shut down by the Trump administration. 

Any money paid to Politico was for subscriptions to Politico Pro, Politico says. 

The claim that Politico received USAID funds was spread by conservative commentator Kyle Becker on X, CNN writes.  

Becker posted this comment: “Fun fact: @Politico received USAID funds.” 

Becker added, “Everything makes sense now.”

He listed the total awarded amount as $8.1 million. 

In a thread, Becker cited a “USASpending.gov page that shows Politico received $8.2 million across 237 transactions.” 

The subject came up during a briefing by Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary.  

Leavitt added that tax dollars allocated to “essentially subsidizing subscriptions to Politico on the American taxpayers’ dime will no longer be happening."   

Politico CEO Goli Sheikholeslami and global editor in chief John Harris responded that some of the debate on X has been “misinformed, and some of it has been flat-out false. Let’s set the record straight.” 

“Politico is a privately owned company,” they write. “We have never received any government funding—no subsidies, no grants, no handouts. Not one dime, ever, in 18 years.

The statement describes Politico Pro as “a professional subscription service used by companies, organizations, and, yes, some government agencies. They subscribe because it makes them better at their jobs—helping them track policy, legislation, and regulations in real-time with news, intelligence, and a suite of data products.”

Politico adds, “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.”