Meta Builds Bipartisan Washington Team as Policy Chief Kaplan Prepares to Exit

Meta is assembling a bipartisan team of Washington veterans to deepen Democratic ties while preserving Republican relationships, as the company seeks influence over AI policy ahead of the midterms, Axios reported. CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Meta President Dina Powell McCormick met in August with the Democratic House Commission on Artificial Intelligence and the Innovation Economy at the invitation of Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.). Gottheimer, in a Friday call with Axios, called the meeting "incredibly productive," citing discussions of Meta's AI infrastructure build-out and local data center investments, including a major Louisiana project. Recent hires include Michael Hacker, a longtime aide to Rep. Jim Clyburn, as VP of compute initiatives, and Nick Schmit, a former aide to Biden Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, as director of strategic partnership management. Meta has also added former Trump administration officials Josh Raffel and Pat Trueman. The staffing shift comes as Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan plans to depart next year. Meta declined to comment.