Kaplan's departure comes as Meta President Dina Powell McCormick, who served in the first Trump administration, has risen in stature at the tech firm
By Meghan Bobrowsky
Meta Platforms' Republican policy chief, Joel Kaplan, is leaving the company after 15 years, according to a post he made on X.
His departure announcement comes about nine months after Dina Powell McCormick, who served in the first Trump administration, was hired as president of the tech giant, and as Meta has started donating to Democrats ahead of the midterm elections.
"I've decided the time is right for me to move on from my role as Chief Global Affairs Officer," Kaplan said in his post. "I'll be at the company for a few months to help with the transition, and then look forward to catching my breath."
Kaplan was elevated to Meta's top policy job in January 2025, shortly after Donald Trump won the presidency. Kaplan joined Meta in 2011 and had served as its conduit to Republican lawmakers in Washington, D.C. and the broader conservative ecosystem for years.
A Meta spokesman confirmed Kaplan's departure and provided a statement from Meta Chief Mark Zuckerberg.
"Joel has worked on virtually every tough issue Meta has faced," Zuckerberg said."Throughout all of it, he's been a strong advocate for our policies, and a friend to me."
Powell McCormick joined Meta's board of directors in April 2025, then stepped down at the end of the year to take on a more expansive role as Meta's president and vice chairman. She reports directly to Zuckerberg.
In a short amount of time, Powell McCormick has become a public face of the company, frequently speaking at events about its data-center build-out and the social-media lawsuits facing Meta, among other topics.
In addition to writing checks for Democrats ahead of the midterms as a counterbalance to the millions of dollars it gave to the White House ballroom and other Republican initiatives, Meta is among the tech companies whose executives and advisers have discussed the likelihood that they will face requests for information, future congressional hearings and even subpoenas should Democrats gain control of the U.S. House of Representatives next month, The Wall Street Journal previously reported.
Kaplan said in his post that he doesn't yet know what he will do next.