Global Affairs President Nick Clegg is replaced by Joel Kaplan before the Trump inauguration.

• Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is restructuring its policy team three weeks before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.
• Joel Kaplan will replace Nick Clegg, a Brit who has been the company's global head of policy since 2018.
• In December, former president George W. Bush's staffer, Kaplan, was seen at the NYSE alongside incoming Vice President-elect J.D. Vance and Trump.

Facebook is replacing its President of Global Affairs, Nick Clegg, with Joel Kaplan, its current policy vice president and a former Republican party staffer.

The latest indication of tech companies' readiness for the new administration in Washington is the three-week shake-up before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.

Kaplan will replace Clegg as Chief Global Affairs Officer, with Clegg stepping down at the start of the new year.

As a staffer under former President George W. Bush, Kaplan was present at the NYSE with Vice President-elect J.D. Vance and Trump in December. He also attended Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing in 2018 as a personal friend, sparking controversy for the social media company.

Clegg wrote in a memo to his staff on Facebook on Thursday that he will look forward to spending a few months handing over the reins and representing the company at a number of international gatherings in Q1 of this year.

Since joining the company in 2018, Clegg has helped Meta navigate intense scrutiny, especially regarding the company's influence on elections and its efforts to control harmful content. He has also represented the company in Washington and London, frequently at panels for artificial intelligence and at congressional hearings. Additionally, Clegg played a key role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which Facebook shared user data with third-party political consultants.

The relationship between 'big tech' and societal pressures underwent a significant reset during my time at the company, resulting in new laws, institutions, and norms affecting the sector, as Clegg wrote.

Clegg stated in his note that Kevin Martin, the former Federal Communications Commission chairman, would succeed Kaplan as Meta's vice president of global policy. He added that Kaplan would collaborate closely with David Ginsburg, Meta's vice president of global communications and public affairs.

"Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, expressed gratitude for Nick's contributions to the company and the world over the past seven years. He praised Nick for building a strong team and was excited for Joel to take on the role of leading policy work, given his extensive experience and insight."

Semafor first reported the news.

Rosenblatt Securities has set a price target of $811 for the stock.