Meta moved to strengthen ties with Washington by hiring a former official from President Donald Trump's first administration as president. Trump called it an "excellent choice" and immediately welcomed the decision.
On the 12th (local time), Meta announced that it had named Dina Powell McCormick, who served as deputy national security adviser in Trump's first administration, as its new president and vice chair. In the newly created president role, McCormick will work with Meta's computing and infrastructure organization to set investment strategy and lead the creation of new strategic partnerships.
Meta said McCormick has served on the board and has been deeply involved in advancing the "state-of-the-art AI" and "personal superintelligence" strategies. President McCormick will report directly to Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg.
McCormick served as deputy national security adviser in 2017-2018 during Trump's first administration and held the post of Deputy Minister at the State Department under the George W. Bush administration. A finance and policy expert who spent 16 years at investment bank Goldman Sachs and rose to partner, she is also the spouse of Republican Sen. David McCormick.
Zuckerberg explained the appointment by saying she is "a uniquely qualified leader with broad experience and relationships across global finance and policy who can lead Meta's next stage of growth."
The appointment is seen as part of Meta's broader push to solidify relations with the Trump administration. Meta previously added a figure known to be close to President Trump to its board, placed former administration officials in a series of key posts, and ended diversity, equity and inclusion policies that Trump had criticized.
President Trump responded immediately. On his social media, he called it "an excellent choice by Mark Zuckerberg," adding that "McCormick is an outstanding and talented person who contributed to the Trump administration with strength and excellence."
Foreign media said the appointment evoked the former chief operating officer who leveraged ties with Democrats to lead Meta's external relations and predicted McCormick is also likely to serve as a bridge to a Republican administration.