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It’s the latest in a series of skirmishes with the media, long a target of Donald Trump and his supporters. The Defense Department last week evicted NPR, NBC, the Times, and Politico from their Pentagon workspaces, and Trump has continued to criticize CBS’ “60 Minutes” for its handling of an interview with former opponent Kamala Harris last fall. Free press advocates are also concerned about Trump’s plans for the media outlet Voice of America, whose charter guarantees its editorial freedom.
This time, though, is a bit different. By linking federal government spending to the media, Trump has bundled two of his long-favored political targets into one rhetorical package — denouncing a common practice as untoward while offering no supporting evidence for his assertions.
On Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the government had paid more than $8 million for Politico subscriptions and that Elon Musk’s government efficiency team “is working on canceling those payments.” That quickly set off a social-media maelstrom and a hunt by online sleuths for other evidence of taxpayer spending on the news.
“The U.S. government must stop paying for media subscriptions. Now,” Richard Grenell, Trump’s special mission envoy, posted on X.
Trump, on his Truth Social platform, complained about payments to the “FAKE NEWS MEDIA” for creating good stories about Democrats. “Did the New York Times receive money??? Who else did??? THIS COULD BE THE BIGGEST SCANDAL OF THEM ALL,” he wrote.
And at a national prayer breakfast at the Capitol on Thursday morning, Trump touted the efforts to look into the media spending. “We’re catching them left and right,” Trump said. “We’re catching them. We’re catching them to a point where they don’t know what the heck is going on. They can’t believe they’re getting caught.”
Governments paying for news outlets’ content is common
Politico, in a statement to readers from CEO Goli Sheikholeslami and Editor-in-Chief John Harris, said Thursday that it is not getting a government subsidy.
“It is a transaction — just as the government buys research, equipment, software, and industry reports,” they said. “Some online voices are deliberately spreading falsehoods. 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.”
It has not been unusual for governments, federal and state, to subscribe to major media outlets to keep up on important or strategic issues. The U.S. State Department, for example, may depend on international news reporting for clarity on incidents happening in countries where the United States has interests. Specialists in an agency like the Department of Transportation follow trade publications for industry trends.
The Politico Pro service helps government and private sector customers “track policy, legislation and regulations in real-time with news, intelligence and a suite of data products,” the company said. It would not discuss how many subscriptions it has sold, or the prices.
The New York Times said it earned less than $2 million last year through government subscriptions, which are offered at a discounted rate. Through one arrangement, the Times gives access to more than 1 million active and retired military members and their families.
“These officials and other public servants are simply seeking to better understand the world through our independent journalism, like millions of other Americans,” spokesman Charlie Stadtlander said.
Elon Musk’s voice is also in the mix
Musk, also a frequent critic of the mainstream media and the owner of a platform that in many ways competes with it, retweeted one message on X that complained about the AP “raking in millions of dollars in government money for years.”
“Not for long,” Musk added. ”This is obviously a huge waste of taxpayer money.”
AP spokeswoman Lauren Easton said that “the U.S. government has long been an AP customer — through both Democratic and Republican administrations. It licenses AP’s nonpartisan journalism, just like thousands of news outlets and customers around the world. It’s quite common for governments to have contracts with news organizations for their content.”
The outlet would not reveal how much it is earning in federal government contracts.
Separately, Musk’s focus on the USAID agency has threatened some $268 million in congressionally authorized funding aimed at offering training and support to some 6,200 independent journalists working around the world, including in war-torn Ukraine, said the organization Reporters Without Borders.
Denying the money “will create a vacuum that plays into the hands of propagandists and authoritarian states,” said Clayton Weimers, executive director of Reporters Without Borders’ USA branch.
The U.S. Agency for International Development is preparing for most of its staff to be dismissed or placed on administrative leave by Friday. Fewer than 300 of the foreign assistance agency's roughly 10,000 employees — many of them currently stationed abroad — will be allowed to stay, according to multiple reports citing anonymous sources. A lawsuit filed Thursday challenges the legality of the Trump administration's move, which would also affect U.S. businesses such as farms.
Amazon stock slips as a gloomy outlook overshadows strong earnings
The e-commerce giant said its fourth quarter was led by massive success in holiday shopping and AI investments.
The city of Los Angeles has launched an online tool to help people affected by recent wildfires by simplifying the task of applying for assistance.
The LA Disaster Relief Navigator is intended to highlight resources available to those whose lives were impacted by this year’s wildfires. After filling out a simple questionnaire, residents are directed to local, state, and federal programs for essential goods, disaster relief, insurance assistance, home damage repair, and other services.
“Angelenos are continuing to navigate grief and shock. My commitment is to do everything we can to get people the help they need as conveniently as possible,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement announcing the website.
Last month, the Federal Emergency Management Agency opened disaster recovery centers in Los Angeles County to provide in-person assistance to wildfire victims who had questions about their next steps.
The online tool will provide some of that same information, which can be difficult to find for anyone unable to visit a disaster recovery center in person.
The Navigator is a partnership between the Los Angeles Mayor’s Fund, Better Angels, and Imagine L.A. Support also comes from the Annenberg Foundation and the R&S Kayne Foundation.
The Los Angeles Mayor’s Fund is a nonprofit started under former Mayor Eric Garcetti. Better Angels bills itself as a nonprofit that aims to take a “holistic approach to tackle the homelessness crisis” and Imagine L.A. is a nonprofit that describes itself as an “organization dedicated to ending the cycle of family homelessness and chronic poverty.”
The navigator can be found at wildfires.betterangels.la.
One of the country’s industrial giants is breaking up. Honeywell, a $150 billion conglomerate that was already planning to spin off its advanced materials division, said Thursday it will also separate its aerospace branch from its automation arm. The decision follows a yearlong review of a potential split, spurred by pressure from activist investor Elliott Investment Management. Elliott cited the example of General Electric, which split into three independent businesses last year. The companies’ combined valuation is nearly four times what GE’s was in 2022.
While Peloton says it still has a “steep hill to climb” toward profitable growth, the fitness company reported stronger-than-expected cash flow for its latest quarter and raised its earnings guidance for the year. Thursday's news comes as new CEO Peter Stern looks to stabilize the business with a focus on subscription-based services, new products, and additional cost cuts. But, subscriber retention has been difficult — app subscriptions are expected to fall 15% in the current quarter.
Items on Shein and Temu may not remain quite as cheap. Logistics agents that import goods into the U.S. have begun adding a 30% levy to products shipping from China and Hong Kong, Bloomberg reports. The charges come after the U.S. imposed 10% tariffs on all Chinese merchandise and revoked a rule that let packages worth $800 or less enter untaxed. The latter change will likely hurt Shein more than Temu, Reuters writes, as Temu has been building up its stateside inventory.