WASHINGTON (TNND) — Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, reacted to a post on social media platform X Wednesday about Politico receiving payments from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Podcast host Benny Johnson wrote Politico was “massively funded” by USAID and that no workers at the news outlet received pay Tuesday. USAID is currently under scrutiny by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) over its spending, and all direct-hire workers of the agency will be placed on administrative leave Friday.

“Please tell me this is a joke,” Sen. Lee replied to Johnson. “Please. Someone?”

Johnson also said in his post “this is the biggest scandal in news media history.”

“No employee at Politico got paid yesterday. First time ever the company missed a pay period. This is a crisis,” the podcast host wrote. The National News Desk (TNND) could not independently verify the claim.

“Now we learn Politico — a ‘news company’ — which spent the last 10 years trying to destroy the MAGA Movement was being massively funded by USAID,” Johnson continued.

USAID purchased $24,000 worth of Politico subscriptions last year and $20,000 worth of them in 2023, according to USAspending.gov, the official source for spending data for the federal government.

Elon Musk, who heads DOGE, said Monday President Donald Trump agreed USAID should be shut down.

“Trump & Elon deleted their funding. Now Politico will go out of business,” Johnson wrote in his post. “The corruption is endless. Good riddance.”

Politico has been awarded a total of $8.2 million from multiple government bodies since 2015, according to USAspending.gov.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday DOGE is working on "canceling" those payments.

“I can confirm that the more than 8 million taxpayer dollars that have gone to essentially subsidizing subscriptions to Politico on the American taxpayer’s dime will no longer be happening,” she told reporters.

When reached for comment, Politico shared with The National News Desk (TNND) an internal note sent to staff Wednesday by Media Group CEO Goli Sheikholeslami and Global Editor-In-Chief John Harris. The note acknowledged the "spirited discussion" occurring about government subscriptions and said such a conversation is welcomed.

"Some parts of today’s conversation, however, were confusing and left some people with false understandings. For this reason, we want you to hear from us on several points," the note read.

Sheikholeslami and Harris told employees Politico has "never been a beneficiary of government programs or subsidies" and explained the outlet has offered a "professional subscription service" since 2012. That service provides private and public sector clients with "granular, fact-based reporting, real-time intelligence, and tracking tools across key policy areas," the two wrote.

"Here is the most important point for our newsroom and subscribers alike. We believe the work of a new administration—and the work being done by DOGE—is a hugely important story," the note continued. "In particular because of the ambition of the new administration to transform large sections of the government, our responsibility to cover this from every angle is urgent."

Have questions, concerns or tips? Send them to Ray at rjlewis@sbgtv.com.