Meta VP of Global Affairs steps down, to be replaced by Republican Joel Kaplan after Zuckerberg shifts right

Kaplan served as the White House Deputy Chief of Staff for George W. Bush and has been vying for more free speech on the Facebook platform, per Semafor. He has reportedly argued for less restrictions on speech as he has been with the company and has said that such policies have targeted conservatives.

Clegg is a former deputy prime minister from Britain and was at one point the leader of the Liberal Democrats in the country. He joined Meta in 2018, working on policy as well as lobbying efforts and then led the global policy team for the company starting in 2022.

However, Clegg has stepped down, with the shift coming just a few weeks after Trump met with Mark Zuckerberg in November at Mar-a-Lago. Zuckerberg congratulated Trump on his win, and over the course of the campaign, has appeared to shift politically to the right.

In September, Zuckerberg was revealed to identify as a libertarian and hired a Republican strategist to help his relationship with the GOP. He also called Trump "bad*ss" when he saw that the president-elect pumped his fist in the air after getting shot in Butler, Pennsylvania. He also admitted to Congress that the Biden-Harris admin had "pressured" Facebook into censoring Americans.

“I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for Meta and the world these past seven years,” Zuckerberg said about Clegg stepping down. “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.”