On Wednesday, White House press director Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the US Agency for International Development (USAID) will crack down on funding for media outlets, including Politico, along with the blessings of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Karoline Leavitt announces elimination of funding for media outlets
“When I came here in the briefing room, I noticed funding from USAID to media outlets, including Politico, who knows I have a seat in this room. Essentially, regarding the US taxpayer Dime Granting a subscription to Politico is no longer going to happen,” Leavitt said.
“The Doge team is currently working on cancelling these payments,” she continued.
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Politico’s response to funding crackdowns
According to USaspending.gov, Politico has received at least $8.2 million from the US government over the past few years. Fox News further argued that the White House confirmation may have delayed staff’s recent biweekly direct deposits due to reforms driven by Doge leader Elon Musk. I reported that he was getting hot right after the staff member.
“Politico has ruined a lot of people,” an employee told Fox News Digital about Payout Chaos. Without linking late payments to mask crackdowns, a Politico spokesman attributed the issue to “technical errors.”
“Employees were paid yesterday. There was an improved technical error in a few hours,” read the official statement.
Republicans no longer support Elon Musk, who influenced the Trump administration
Meanwhile, a new poll shows that the proportion of Republicans supporting billionaire Elon Musk, who influences President Donald Trump, has drastically slipped in the months since Maga’s leader was re-elected. is suggested.
Just 26% of Republicans hope Tesla bosses have “many influences” on POTUS, according to the latest Economist/YouGov poll released Wednesday. This number was much higher right after the November 2024 election: 47% of Republicans surveyed.
Other numbers reveal that 43% of Republican respondents want to have a “slight” impact on masks. On the contrary, 17% agreed that he “nothing at all.” Conversely, election surveys from 2024 onwards reflected that 29% wanted a “little” while 12% wanted him to “not at all.”
Elon Musk’s American views also fall
As well as a massive drop in GOP numbers, the overall preferences of surveyed Americans for musk have also plummeted. Currently, only 13% of US respondents want to have “a lot of influence” on the Trump administration, and 25% want to say “a little” on Trump’s issue. , 46% admitted that there is none at all.
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In November 2024, the results were completely different. At the time, 34% of Americans were OK with musk having “many” influence, 22% being “a little” and 30% being “at all” and 30% being “at all.”
The latest survey, conducted between February 2nd and 4th, 2025, included 1,604 US citizens, including 78% of Democrats, 41% of independents and 35% of Republicans.
How Democrats and Independences responded
On the democratic and independent aspects of the survey, there was even a consequence of the preference for Elon Musk, who shakes up Trump’s administrator’s decisions. Six percent of each group agreed that he had “a lot of influence.” However, shortly after the election, 15% of Democrats and 26% of independents chose the parent sk category.
It’s not just people who have lost popularity since Trump was elected. Similarly, the poll saw American views on Republican leaders and vice president JD Vance compared to previous results from the vote held one week after his inauguration.
