Politico

Politico was founded by former Washington Post colleagues John F. Harris, who had been the paper’s national politics editor, and Jim VandeHei, who had been a White House reporter under him; Robert Allbritton, heir to a banking and media family, provided the funding, and the two recruited about 30 journalists for the launch, with White House reporter Mike Allen among the founders. In January 2007 Politico began publishing its website and distributing a thrice-weekly newspaper on Capitol Hill.⁠[1][1][1][2][1][1]

Politico broke through with fast, high-volume Washington political coverage, its early reporters often breaking a single story into several short dispatches. In May 2007 it co-hosted a Republican presidential debate with MSNBCMS NOWMS NOW (My Source for News, Opinion and the World) is an American cable channel for political news and commentary. It was formerly MSNBC, launched in July 1996 as a joint venture of NBC and Microsoft, adopted its current name on November 15, 2025, as its business was spun off from Comcast, and since January 2026 has belonged to the independent public company Versant Media Group. It is known for its liberal-leaning commentary programs.Open the full entry, and the following January it hosted one for each party.⁠[1][1][1]

In 2009, in the only filing by its parent Allbritton Communications that broke out its finances, Politico reported operating revenue of $18.6 million and a profit of $900,000; despite rapid online growth, most of its revenue still came from interest-group advertising in its print newspaper. Playbook, the morning newsletter written by White House reporter Mike Allen, became daily reading for Washington insiders. By 2011 Politico had about 150 editorial staff covering U.S. politics and about 4 million unique monthly visitors to its website.⁠[1][1][2][2][2][2]

In 2011 Politico launched Politico Pro, a policy news subscription service for lobbyists, regulators and industry groups, which became the company’s financial anchor. By 2015 Pro had about 100 journalists covering 14 policy areas from health care to defense and more than 1,800 subscriptions, mostly priced between $10,000 and $300,000, accounting for about 40% of the company’s revenue, with roughly half coming from advertising and the rest from events.⁠[1][1][1][1][1][1]

In 2013 traffic to Politico’s free site stagnated at an average of about 5.2 million unique visitors a month. That October management hired veteran New York Times editor Rick Berke as executive editor to replace VandeHei, who had moved to the business side; Berke resigned in September 2014 after 11 months, saying the dynamics were not there for them to work together seamlessly. Politico Magazine editor Susan Glasser was then given full authority over the Washington newsroom, Harris turned to building the European operation, and VandeHei, as chief executive, pushed expansion into state capitals.⁠[1][1][1][1][1][1][1]

In September 2014 Politico announced a joint venture in Europe with the German media group Axel Springer, and at the end of that year the two bought the Brussels outlet European Voice. Politico Europe launched in April 2015 with more than 40 journalists and a total staff of about 70, and from April 23 it distributed a print edition of 25,000 to 30,000 copies in Brussels and in cities such as London, Paris and Berlin; Harris called it by far the biggest project on the company’s plate and a “seven-figure” investment.⁠[3][3][3][3][3][3]

In January 2016 co-founder and chief executive Jim VandeHei announced he would leave after the election season, along with Playbook author Mike Allen, and three key business executives also left that year; Susan Glasser was to move to another role in 2017. Harris added the title of publisher and dismissed the idea that the shake-up signaled a change in strategy. VandeHei denied rumors that he and Allbritton disagreed over expansion into state capitals.⁠[4][4][4][4]

On August 26, 2021, Axel Springer announced it would buy Politico and its tech news sibling Protocol for more than $1 billion; at the time Politico’s North American operations, its European joint venture and Protocol employed more than 500 journalists. Owner Robert Allbritton said growing the business globally might be better advanced by a larger company with a global footprint than by him as owner of a family business. On October 19, after receiving all regulatory approvals, the deal closed, making Axel Springer the 100% owner of Politico, Politico’s 50% interest in Politico Europe, Protocol, E&E News and AgencyIQ.⁠[5][5][5][6][6]

In January 2022 Politico’s Playbook, citing a reader tip and a photo, reported that Justice Sonia Sotomayor had dined with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats at the Washington restaurant Le Diplomate; the woman in the photo thought to be Sotomayor was in fact Schumer’s wife, New York Public Library chief operating officer Iris Weinshall, and Politico issued a correction.⁠[7][7][7]

On the evening of May 2, 2022, Politico published an exclusive by Josh Gerstein and Alexander Ward revealing a draft majority opinion in which the U.S. Supreme Court would overturn Roe v. Wade. The next day the Court confirmed the document was authentic but said it did not represent its final decision, and Chief Justice John Roberts called it a betrayal of the Court’s confidences and ordered an investigation into the leak. By May 6 the story had nearly 11 million views, making it the most-viewed article in Politico’s 15-year history.⁠[8][8][9][9][8][8]

On November 15, 2022, Protocol, the tech news site Allbritton had launched in early 2020 and sold to Axel Springer along with Politico, announced it would shut down; it stopped publishing that week and laid off its entire staff.⁠[10][10]

In June 2024, under new management, several prominent staff left Politico, including Alex Ward, co-author of the Roe draft scoop, Pentagon reporter Lara Seligman and longtime columnist Jack Shafer; senior editor Sam Stein had already left after publicly reported friction with the new management. In September Politico partnered with Capitol AI, a Y Combinator-backed startup, to develop an artificial intelligence tool for Politico Pro subscribers that generates topic reports quickly and relies entirely on Politico’s reporting.⁠[11][11][11][12][12]

On January 31, 2025, the Department of Defense introduced an “annual media rotation program” requiring Politico, NBCNBCNBC (National Broadcasting Company) is an American national commercial broadcast television network. It was founded by RCA in 1926, began as a radio network and later developed television. With ABC and CBS it is one of the three traditional U.S. broadcast networks; it passed to General Electric with RCA in 1986, merged with Universal to form NBCUniversal in 2004, has been controlled by Comcast since 2011, and is one of the five networks that rotate in the White House television pool.Open the full entry’s news division NBC News, The New York Times and NPR to vacate their dedicated Pentagon workspaces within two weeks.⁠[13][13][13]

In February misleading claims spread on the social platform X that Politico was propped up by U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) funding. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt then said that the more than $8 million in taxpayer money “subsidizing” Politico subscriptions would end, and the White House directed the federal procurement agency to cancel government subscriptions to two Politico services. Politico said it had never received any subsidies or grants from the federal government and that agencies subscribed through the procurement process to Politico Pro, which tracks legislation and policy details; Politico Pro had more than $100 million in revenue in 2023, over half of the company’s revenue that year.⁠[14][14][14][14][14][14]

In April 2026 some European staff and members of the U.S. union wrote to newly named global editor in chief Jonathan Greenberger, arguing that Axel Springer chief executive Mathias DöpfnerMathias DöpfnerMathias Döpfner is a media executive who has been Chief Executive Officer of the German company Axel Springer since 2002 and, together with Friede Springer, holds the vast majority of its shares; during his tenure, the company has pursued a digital transformation and expanded its businesses in the United States and the United Kingdom.Open the full entry’s repeated use of Politico to promote his political views risked damaging its impartial reputation; the letter cited two Döpfner columns calling on Europe to support the United States and Israel in their war with Iran and criticizing European aid to Palestinians, and asked that his op-eds carry a disclaimer and undergo rigorous standards review. On April 27 Döpfner, Greenberger, Politico chief executive Goli Sheikholeslami and others met with staff.⁠[15][15][15][15][15]

On September 18, 2026, Trump announced that he was banning CNNCNNCNN (Cable News Network) is an Atlanta-based news organization founded by Ted Turner on June 1, 1980, as the world’s first 24-hour television news channel. It has been owned in turn by Turner Broadcasting System, Time Warner, AT&T and Warner Bros. Discovery, became part of Skydance Corporation along with Warner Bros. Discovery in October 2026, and is one of the five networks that rotate in the White House television pool.Open the full entry, MS NOW and Politico from the White House over what he called “fake news” reporting. Politico said it would continue to report fairly on this White House and future ones and would vigorously defend its First Amendment rights. On September 19 Politico reporter Cheyenne Haslett and reporters from CNN and MS NOW were denied entry to the White House by the Secret Service, which seized their press passes. On September 21 the three outlets sued the Trump administration in federal district court in Washington, D.C., alleging violations of the First Amendment and due process.⁠[16][16][17][17]

In court the Justice Department argued that the three outlets did not meet “minimum requirements of professionalism.” On September 24 Judge Timothy Kelly issued a temporary restraining order, and on October 13 he issued a preliminary injunction, finding that the outlets were likely to succeed on their due process claim and both First Amendment claims; the ban had affected 78 reporters at the three outlets. The injunction does not require the White House to admit their reporters to the Oval Office or Air Force One, where the White House had blocked CNN and Politico reporters in the preceding weeks. A White House official said the administration would appeal, and on October 14 the Justice Department filed a notice of appeal to the D.C. Circuit on Trump’s behalf.⁠[18][19][20][19][21][20][22]

Politico: Official website: https://www.politico.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[23]

X: Public account: https://x.com/politico (opens in a new window)⁠[23]