White House reviews media subscription expenses
The White House will cancel its subscriptions to Politico, which have cost millions of dollars. This is part of Trump's campaign to review government spending, the press secretary stated.
Photo: Jonathan Cutrer, CC BY 2.0
The administration of Donald Trump is halting funding for Politico subscriptions, White House press secretary Caroline Levitt announced on Wednesday.
According to her, over $8 million from the U.S. budget was spent on access to the publication’s materials, which is now considered an unjustified expense.
The decision follows an investigation by right-wing activists using the USAspending.gov platform to track government media expenditures. They claim the government sponsors certain outlets, including The New York Times, AP, and Reuters.
The situation escalated after Politico delayed salary payments due to a technical glitch. On social media, this was linked to government funding, sparking a wave of speculation.
Although the actual amount from USAID was only $24,000, Trump supporters used the incident to criticize the media.
Politico's management stated that the publication has never received government subsidies, with the majority of subscriptions being funded by the private sector.
However, the Trump administration continues to cut budgetary spending on media, signaling an intensified effort against liberal news outlets.
Additionally, Elon Musk stated that over the past five years, the U.S. government has allocated tens of millions of dollars to The New York Times, significantly increasing payments after 2021.
In August 2024, the newspaper received $4.1 million. The largest funding source was the U.S. Department of Health ($26.9 million), followed by the National Science Foundation ($19.15 million).
Musk hinted that such sums could influence the newspaper’s editorial policy but provided no evidence.
Earlier, it was reported that the U.S. is imposing tariffs on Canadian goods, citing Ottawa’s insufficient efforts to combat drug trafficking, to which Canada is preparing a tough response.
It was also revealed that Donald Trump proposed deploying American troops in Gaza, clearing the destroyed areas, and turning the territory into an "economic paradise" by relocating local residents.