That's because politico reports on politics from an "inside baseball" perspective. The focus is much more on the mechanics of politics and government as it happens/operates, and less so on the actual policies. To do this effectively, they need access, and so will consistently softball or smooth over things.
As they say right at the start of their "About Us", "POLITICO illuminates the forces shaping global power".
This ia beyond insiders baseball. You can do insiders baseball without going out of your way to whitewash as much.They dont just softball. They defend and literally go out of their way to imply false things - all to protect republicans.
They are not illuminating powers. They are obscuring uncomfortable acts and behavior or republican party.
As they say right at the start of their "About Us", "POLITICO illuminates the forces shaping global power".