Mark Zuckerberg, who leads Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced on the 11th (local time) that he has added Dina Powell McCormick, a former official from President Donald Trump's first administration, to the board of directors.
This follows the recruitment of Dana White, the chief executive officer of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), known for his close ties to President Trump, to the board in January of this year.
This is interpreted as Zuckerberg strengthening his pro-Trump stance.
She will officially join the board as of the 15th, and she is the wife of Pennsylvania Republican Senator David McCormick. She served as Deputy National Security Advisor from 2017 to 2018 during Trump's first administration.
Previously, during the George W. Bush administration, she served as Assistant Secretary of State under Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
In March of last year, a photo of the Powell McCormick couple with President Trump and Elon Musk, the chief executive officer of Tesla, surfaced taken at a wrestling championship event.
Zuckerberg had a strained relationship with President Trump in the past, and Meta's Facebook suspended Trump's account after his supporters incited a riot at the Capitol in protest of the election loss four years ago.
However, for this election, he donated $1 million to President Trump's inauguration and co-hosted the inauguration celebration reception, indicating a shift in approach. This is seen as a move to ease regulations and seek government support.
Facebook has abolished its third-party 'fact-checking' department that aimed to identify 'fake news' and diversity policy oversight. Additionally, it settled for $25 million in the lawsuit raised by President Trump in protest of the account suspension.
Meanwhile, Patrick Collison, co-founder and CEO of payment startup Stripe, has also been appointed to the new board.