Meta Appoints Dina Powell McCormick as President, Vice Chairman to Strengthen Washington Influence
GeokHub
Jan 12, 2026 | GEOKHUB Meta Platforms has appointed Dina Powell McCormick, a former senior official in the Trump administration, as its new president and vice chairman, a move widely seen as strengthening the company’s political influence in Washington as it pursues aggressive expansion in artificial intelligence and infrastructure.
President Donald Trump publicly congratulated Powell McCormick shortly after the announcement, praising her as “fantastic” and crediting her service in his administration with “strength and distinction.”
Strategic Shift Toward Washington
The appointment underscores Meta’s increasingly visible effort to align itself with Trump-era political leadership. Over the past year, the company has made a series of decisions that have drawn it closer to Republican policymakers, even as it seeks government support for massive investments in frontier AI, data centers, and energy capacity.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg has reportedly sought backing from the Trump administration to support Meta’s long-term ambitions, including large-scale data center construction needed to power advanced artificial intelligence systems. Zuckerberg also met Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort ahead of the president’s second inauguration.
Meta has recently dismantled its U.S. fact-checking program, elevated Republican strategist Joel Kaplan to chief global affairs officer, ended internal diversity initiatives, and hired former Trump trade adviser C.J. Mahoney to lead its legal team — replacing former general counsel Jennifer Newstead.
Meta declined to say whether Powell McCormick’s promotion was designed to curry favor with Trump.
Role and Background
According to the company, Powell McCormick will help oversee Meta’s data center expansion, develop strategic capital partnerships, and strengthen the firm’s long-term investment capacity.
She previously spent 16 years at Goldman Sachs in senior leadership roles and served as deputy national security adviser during Trump’s first term. She also worked as a senior adviser under former President George W. Bush.
Powell McCormick is married to Senator David McCormick, a Pennsylvania Republican who chairs a Senate subcommittee overseeing U.S. energy policy — an area closely tied to Meta’s infrastructure expansion. A spokesperson for the senator said he will continue to comply with Senate ethics rules.
However, watchdog groups have raised concerns. The Tech Oversight Project said Senator McCormick should recuse himself from any legislative action involving Meta’s business interests.
Echoes of Past Strategy
Powell McCormick’s appointment mirrors the role once played by former Meta chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, who used strong ties within Democratic circles to help the company navigate regulatory scrutiny during her tenure.
Notably, Powell McCormick resigned from Meta’s board just eight months after joining in December, clearing the way for her executive promotion.
The leadership reshuffle comes as Meta races to regain ground in Silicon Valley’s AI competition following a lukewarm response to its Llama 4 model. The company committed up to $72 billion in capital spending in 2025, signaling how high the stakes have become.
