Meta has tapped Joel Kaplan, a former deputy chief of staff for George W. Bush and a friend of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, as the company’s global head of policy—promoting one of the social media company’s most prominent Republicans just as Silicon Valley leaders pursue closer ties with the incoming Trump administration.
In a public announcement on Facebook, Nick Clegg, Meta’s president for global affairs, announced he would step down in the upcoming year, and confirmed that Kaplan, the company’s vice president for global public policy, would take his place.
“Joel is quite clearly the right person for the right job at the right time - ideally placed to shape the company’s strategy as societal and political expectations around technology continue to evolve,” Clegg wrote.
ADVERTISEMENT
Kaplan, a Harvard Law School graduate and marine veteran who once clerked for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, was first brought on at the company in 2011 to work on policy in Washington, according to a 2022 profile in Wired.
But Kaplan found himself at the center of a controversy after he was spotted sitting behind Kavanaugh during one of his confirmation hearings, showing support for his fellow Bush administration alumnus as he faced allegations of sexual assault from Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.
Kaplan’s prominent position behind his friend sparked outrage among hundreds of Facebook employees, prompting the company to host a town hall meeting to discuss the incident.
“I’ve talked to Joel about why I think it was a mistake for him to attend given his role in the company,” former chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg said in an internal post to employees.
Kaplan later apologized in his own note circulated to employees, The New York Times reported in 2018. In other posts obtained by the paper, Kaplan said he was standing by his friend and took a personal day to attend the hearing.
“I have known Brett and Ashley Kavanaugh for 20 years,” Kaplan wrote. “They are my and my wife Laura’s closest friends in D.C. I was in their wedding; he was in ours. Our kids have grown up together.”
Despite the apologies, Kaplan and his wife still hosted a party for supporters after Kavanaugh was confirmed, Politico reported at the time.
The new appointment comes as Zuckerberg and other Silicon Valley leaders look to shore up support in the incoming Trump administration. The Meta founder made the pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago in November, and reportedly donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund weeks later.
Clegg was Britain’s deputy prime minister from 2010 to 2015, when his Liberal Democrat Party formed a coalition government with the Conservatives. The coalition ended after the Liberal Democrats lost most of their support in the 2015 election, and Clegg lost his own seat in parliament in 2017.
In a post announcing his departure, Clegg said he was “simply thrilled” that Kaplan would be his successor.
Current and former Meta executives sounded off in the comments of Clegg’s post, praising his over-six-year tenure at the company and his chosen successor.
“Joel brings decades of experience both at Meta and in government to this job, as well as enormous talent, skill, vision and creativity,” wrote Sandberg, who has since left the company. “There is no one more capable of leading this team during this time of innovation and opportunity for Meta. Joel - congratulations and we all can’t wait to see what you do!”
“I am honored to follow in your footsteps and am grateful for your continued partnership as I ramp up,” Kaplan said in his own post praising his predecessor.
