Kavanaugh Pal, Meta's 'Most Prominent Republican,' Will Run Company's Global Public Policy

Joel Kaplan, the former George W. Bush adviser known for his outspoken support of Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court, is being promoted to head of the global policy team at Meta (formerly Facebook), where he has worked since 2011.

Kaplan, who served as an artillery officer in the Marine Corps and clerked for the late Justice Antonin Scalia, has been described as Meta’s "most prominent Republican." He has been close friends with Kavanaugh since 1998 and sat behind the justice during his contentious 2018 confirmation hearings, which were tainted by unsubstantiated allegations of sexual assault. 

Kaplan's presence at the hearing incited an angsty revolt among Facebook staff, who vented their grievances to CEO Mark Zuckerberg during an "emotional" town hall.

A number of Facebook employees expressed frustration that Kaplan had visibly supported his friend after Christine Blasey Ford accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her in high school. "As a woman and someone who cares so deeply about how women are treated, the Kavanaugh issue is deeply upsetting to me—as I know it is to many women and men in our company and around the world," Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg wrote in an internal post.

Kaplan did not apologize for supporting his friend but said he should have consulted company leaders before attending. Days later, he hosted a party to celebrate Kavanaugh's confirmation, which the justice and his wife attended.

The news of Kaplan's promotion was first reported by Semafor, which omitted any mention of Kaplan's association with Kavanaugh but described him as "the right man for the moment" given Donald Trump's decisive victory in November’s presidential election. 

"Progressive policies around diversity are deeply out of fashion," wrote Liz Hoffman, Semafor's business and finance editor. "So is content moderation, as Musk’s free-for-all version of X has defied its critics."

Within Meta’s ranks, Kaplan has been a visible opponent of restricting political speech on social media. His promotion is another sign that at least some Silicon Valley firms are eager to free themselves from the shackles of progressive ideology. Kaplan's predecessor, Nick Clegg, was the former leader of Britain's left-wing Liberal Democrat party. 

"I’m excited for Joel to step into this role next, given his deep experience and insight leading our policy work for many years," Zuckerberg said in a statement.

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