Meta has promoted Joel Kaplan, former deputy chief of staff to George W. Bush and one of the most prominent Republicans at the tech company, to head of its global policy team.
Kaplan takes over from the departing Nick Clegg, former UK deputy prime minister and former leader of Britain’s Liberal Democrats. Clegg joined Meta in 2018 after it was discovered that the political consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica had harvested the data of 87 million Facebook users. Clegg oversaw the development of Facebook’s content policies and independent oversight board.
Kaplan, one of the most outspoken conservatives at Meta, previously served as VP of the company’s global policy division, a position that will be filled by former Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin.
Kaplan’s hire comes as corporations are rushing to curry favor with Donald Trump ahead of his return to the White House. Reuters reported last month that Meta donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund while Kaplan was most recently seen with Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance at the New York Stock Exchange last month.
Kaplan’s hire was first reported by Semafor.
