The federal government has spent $44.2 million on subscriptions to political news site POLITICO since 2017. That includes dozens of Executive Branch agencies as well as offices in the House of Representatives.
There’s an app for people who’ve lost track of how many subscriptions. For government, though, that app is DOGE!
BY THE NUMBERS
The dollar figure includes $32.3 million in spending from inside the White House and $11.9 million from staffers in the House of Representatives.
Despite the online buzz, our auditors did not find any evidence of federal grants given to the news outlet. The only direct assistance the government has sent to Politico was a $1,000 Covid-19 relief grant from 2020.
Virtually all of the payments are, in fact, subscription fees!
Donald Trump’s White House spent just over $1 million on Politico in 2017, his first year as president. By 2020 subscription payments had increased to $2.8 million.
Then, payments increased dramatically once Joe Biden took office. The White House spent $4.4 million on Politico subscriptions in 2021. Payments reached a high of $7.8 million in 2023 and totaled $7.4 million in 2024.
It seems no one in the federal bureaucracy thought to share their password with their colleagues in other agencies. Thirty-eight different federal agencies and subagencies have sent payments to Politico since 2017.
The Department of Health and Human Services spent more than twice as much as any other federal agency with $6.9 million since 2017. The Department of Energy and Department of the Interior also spent more than $3 million in the same time frame. The Agency for International Development spent $44,000.
One might expect that federal bureaucrats are leading experts on government policy and public affairs, more so than journalists at Politico. That may not be the case.
INSIDER INFO
The White House is paying to get behind an even fancier paywall – access to Politico Pro. It’s a service meant to teach the public about what is happening inside the White House, but staffers there have spent $16 million on it since 2017. Thirty-one different agencies and subagencies have also subscribed.
The subscription rate for the Pro version has reached nearly $3,000 per person: a $140,203 payment from HHS in 2024 yielded only 49 subscriptions.
“Whether you’re a lobbyist, executive, consultant, researcher, strategist, or analyst, POLITICO Pro has what you need to power successful policy—anywhere,” the service’s website explains. “POLITICO Pro gives you the inside scoop on the public policy and players that matter most to you. Stay informed and ahead with to-the-point news and automatic tracking of government affairs and policy. Keep pace with the help of experts who act as an extension of your team. With this kind of elite access, you can be a leader in your policy arena.”
BOTTOM LINE
The public is broadly skeptical of national media outlets, distrustful of their reporting and presumes an ideological bent to their coverage. Like most major outlets, POLITICO has its fans and partisans.
But why should the public be on the hook to pay the subscription fee for operatives, staffers and bureacrats somewhere in Washington? We deal with enough paywalls in our own lives. Why are we propping up mainstream media outlets – private, for-profit businesses -- with our own tax dollars?
It looks like DOGE is already on the case, but it comes after the better part of a decade of subscription spending.
