Meta is replacing the liberal head of its global policy team, Nick Clegg, with the social media company’s most vocal Republican, Joel Kaplan, less than three weeks before President-elect Donald Trump enters office.
Kaplan has been a prominent voice for conservatives within Meta by advocating against restrictions on political speech on the company’s main social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram. He also led efforts to change Facebook’s algorithm in a way that would champion conservative publications on the app. Kaplan previously served as the White House deputy chief of staff under George W. Bush.
Meanwhile, Clegg first joined Facebook in 2018 on the heels of the Cambridge Analytica scandal in which the British consulting firm accessed the personal data of 50 million Facebook users. He was later promoted to president of global affairs after the company was renamed Meta. Before moving to the U.S., Clegg served as a British deputy prime minister and leader of the U.K.’s Liberal Democrats.
Meta’s rightward shift is noteworthy, considering Big Tech is predominantly run by ideological progressives. The move shows that the technology sector is looking to work with Trump as he returns to the White House come January 20.
Semafor first reported the news Thursday afternoon. Soon after, Clegg announced his departure on social media.
“As a new year begins, I have come to the view that this is the right time for me to move on from my role as President, Global Affairs at Meta,” Clegg wrote on X. “It truly has been an adventure of a lifetime! I am proud of the work I have been able to do leading and supporting teams across the company to ensure innovation can go hand in hand with increased transparency and accountability, and with new forms of governance.”
Despite their political differences, Clegg wished Kaplan well in taking on the new position.
“And I am simply thrilled that my deputy, Joel Kaplan, will now become Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer,” Clegg added. “Over the years that we have worked together, we have become good friends as well as close colleagues – I have laughed with, as well as learned from, Joel in equal measure. He is quite clearly the right person for the right job at the right time! I much look forward to spending the next few months handing over the reins to Joel before finally leaving Meta after so many enjoyable years at the company.”
Two other prominent Republicans working within Meta are U.S. public policy vice president Kevin Martin, who was a chairman of the Federal Communications Commission under Bush, and general counsel Jennifer Newstead, a former legal adviser to Trump’s Department of State.
The announcement comes after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg dined with Trump at Mar-a-Lago in November, congratulated the president-elect on his electoral victory, and said he is looking forward to working with the incoming administration.
Trump previously criticized Zuckerberg during his 2024 presidential campaign and even threatened to jail the tech tycoon if he interfered in the election. Trump has made past remarks about how Zuckerberg interfered in the 2020 election by paying over $400 million to influence elections across the nation.
In recent years, Facebook has censored critical information regarding Covid-19 misinformation at the behest of the Biden administration. Zuckerberg admitted as much in a letter to the Judiciary Committee last year.
The social media platform also took measures to suppress the Hunter Biden laptop story prior to the 2020 election. According to a recent House Judiciary report, the FBI trained Facebook and Twitter to treat the bombshell story as a “hack-and-leak” Russian operation that involved President Joe Biden’s son.
After their November meeting, it appears Trump and Zuckerberg’s relationship is on the mend.
Other tech executives, including Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Apple’s Tim Cook, have been courting Trump’s inner circle in the weeks ahead of the inauguration. Elon Musk, who owns X, has also become a close Trump ally and will even have a position within the next administration as co-head of the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency alongside Vivek Ramaswamy.
Zuckerberg thanked Clegg for his years of service at the tech giant and congratulated Kaplan on the new job.
“I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for Meta and the world these past seven years,” Zuckerberg said of Clegg, per Semafor. “I’ve learned so much working with you and our whole team is better for having this opportunity. You’ve made an important impact advancing Meta’s voice and values around the world, as well as our vision for AI and the metaverse. You’ve also built a strong team to carry this work forward. I’m excited for Joel to step into this role next given his deep experience and insight leading our policy work for many years.”