What's the Deal with USAID, $8 Million, and All Those Politico Pro Subscriptions?

There is a lot of misinformation currently circulating about Politico, USAID, and the government purportedly subsidizing the media. A lie is spreading in MAGA circles that USAID, which is a real strange target for villainy (because feeding the poor in developing countries is bad?), was entirely bankrolling Politico.

Here’s the truth: The entire government did spend $8 million last year on Politico Pro subscriptions, which are kind of like IMDb Pro subscriptions for people in the policy-writing industry. It includes bill tracking, policy analysis, and event calendars — really boring but sometimes necessary information for civil servants. It’s also very expensive.

USAID itself paid for $24,000 in subscriptions. The entire government paid $8 million for Politico Pro subscriptions. There is funding in the government set aside for media subscriptions, as would be appropriate if you want civil servants to be informed, particularly those involved in policy-making decisions.

Elon Musk’s DOGE, which is trying to cut the federal budget, has decided to highlight these subscriptions because Musk and the Trump administration will use any excuse they can to demonize the media and civil servants. Musk has raised hell about it on X, sending MAGA into a tizzy, claiming this “the biggest scandal in news media history.” It is not. I’m pretty sure that the media’s role in the war in Iraq is the biggest media scandal, at least of this century. But sure, a few million in subscriptions to a wonky publication is a close second!

USAID does not keep the lights on at Politico. Due to a technical glitch with its HR software, Politico’s payroll was briefly delayed on the same day news broke about the government subscriptions. MAGA hastily concluded that Politico missed payroll because it didn’t get the money it was supposedly receiving from USAID, and therefore, the agency must be bankrolling the outlet.

And that’s the whole story. Will I be upset if the government stops buying media subscriptions? Not really. But it also makes very little difference. However, because public pressure on Musk and DOGE has increased, they are looking to redirect it somewhere, and Politico became a convenient scapegoat, which is hilariously ironic because its owner was a big backer of the current president (he actually asked his executives to pray for the president’s reelection).

(Pictured: Samantha Power, the head of USAID under the Biden Admin)