Meta builds bipartisan influence team ahead of midterms
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Meta is assembling a bipartisan team of Washington veterans as the tech giant looks to deepen its relationships with Democrats while retaining its standing with Republicans, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Mark Zuckerberg — the founder, chairman and CEO — has developed a close relationship with President Trump over the past few years, which has helped Meta navigate regulatory scrutiny of AI.
- In September, Zuckerberg and Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang helped bring a slew of top AI executives to the White House to establish self-regulatory commitments.
Driving the news: Zuckerberg and Meta president and vice chairman 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.), sources tell Axios.
- The executives discussed the company's AI strategy, including its infrastructure build-out and economic investment plans, with Gottheimer and other Democrats who co-chair the commission, including California Rep. Ted Lieu and North Carolina Rep. Valerie Foushee.
- Gottheimer, in a phone call with Axios on Friday, called the meeting "incredibly productive." He wanted to get the executives' perspective as they try to put together a legislative framework for AI.
The intrigue: The commission was particularly interested in hearing about the company's local data center investments, including a massive investment in Louisiana, "to understand the benefits they're offering to the local communities."
- Powell McCormick and other Meta executives last month met with Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) and a slew of prominent Louisiana Democrats, including former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu and former U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, at a bipartisan dinner to discuss the investment.
State of play: A new recruitment effort by Powell McCormick, a former bank executive and official in the first Trump administration, is underway, sources tell Axios.
- Michael Hacker, a longtime aide to House Democratic power broker Jim Clyburn, recently joined as VP of compute initiatives.
- Nick Schmit, a former top aide to Biden Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, has joined the company as director of strategic partnership management.
Between the lines: Meta has also hired several former Trump administration officials to ensure its close ties to the White House remain intact.
- Josh Raffel, who worked with Powell McCormick during the first Trump administration, has also recently been brought on as VP of compute initiatives.
- Pat Trueman, a former senior official on Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, recently joined Meta's U.S. policy operation.
- Meta didn't comment on the meeting or the new hires.
Zoom out: The organizational shift is notable given the recent news that Meta's longtime policy chief — chief global affairs officer Joel Kaplan — plans to depart next year.
- Meta has recently elevated a slew of former political operatives to help steer that transition under the leadership of Powell McCormick, who recently added external affairs to her portfolio.
- Brian Rice, a former aide to Democratic Secretary of State John Kerry, was promoted earlier this year to lead U.S. government affairs.
- Tucker Bounds, a veteran of John McCain's presidential campaign, was recently named head of global communications.
- C.J. Mahoney, a former Trump administration official and deputy to former U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, became Meta's chief legal officer in January and has since taken on additional policy responsibilities.
The big picture: The meeting and new hires offer a window into Meta's Washington strategy as scrutiny around AI and data centers becomes a bipartisan election issue. The company is looking to drive the AI policy conversation, regardless of which party controls Congress.
- It especially wants to position its huge AI infrastructure spending in places like Texas, Indiana and Oregon as bipartisan investments in local communities.
- It's investing heavily in new initiatives, including the $1 billion Future Is for Everyone Fund, to support communities affected by its infrastructure expansion and the America's Workforce Academy training program for infrastructure-related career training.
