Meta builds bipartisan Washington team to shape AI, data center policy

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Meta bipartisan AI policy push

Highlights

Meta is building a bipartisan Washington policy team, adding ex-aides from both Democratic and Republican leaders to influence AI and infrastructure policy.
Mark Zuckerberg and Dina Powell McCormick met the Democratic House Commission on Artificial Intelligence in August to discuss Meta's AI strategy and investment plans.
Meta announced a $1 billion Future Is for Everyone Fund and major data center investments in Louisiana, Texas, Indiana, and Oregon to emphasize bipartisan economic benefits.

Washington hiring push and Democratic outreach

As first reported by Axios, Meta is assembling a bipartisan roster of Washington veterans as it works to deepen relationships across both parties and shape the debate over AI regulation and infrastructure spending.

Mark Zuckerberg and Meta president and vice chairman Dina Powell McCormick met in August with the Democratic House Commission on Artificial Intelligence and the Innovation Economy at the invitation of Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, according to people familiar with the matter. The executives discussed Meta's AI strategy, including its infrastructure build-out and economic investment plans, with Gottheimer and other Democratic co-chairs of the commission, including California Rep. Ted Lieu and North Carolina Rep. Valerie Foushee.

Gottheimer said in a phone call on Friday that the meeting was "incredibly productive." He said lawmakers wanted the executives' perspective as they work on a legislative framework for AI.

A recruitment effort led by Powell McCormick is also underway. Michael Hacker, a longtime aide to House Democratic leader Jim Clyburn, recently joined as vice president of compute initiatives, while Nick Schmidt, a former top aide to former Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, joined as director of strategic partnership management.

Meta has also brought in several former Trump administration officials, including Josh Raffel and Pat Trueman, to its U.S. policy operation to maintain close Republican ties and preserve its access to the White House.

AI investment message targets bipartisan support

The House commission is particularly interested in Meta's local data center investments, including a large investment in Louisiana, as lawmakers assess the benefits such projects bring to surrounding communities.

Meta is seeking to steer the AI policy conversation regardless of which party controls Congress. The company is positioning its large AI infrastructure spending in states such as Texas, Indiana and Oregon as bipartisan economic investments tied to jobs, community benefits and long-term regional development.

It also plans to invest heavily in new initiatives such as the $1 billion Future Is for Everyone Fund, aimed at supporting communities affected by its infrastructure expansion. The effort underscores how AI, energy demand and data center development are increasingly becoming political and economic issues for both parties.

Our earlier coverage of the U.S. AI data center buildout highlighted how rising financing costs, construction delays and power limitations are making large-scale projects harder to deliver on schedule. We noted that only a portion of planned developments look credible as investor confidence softens, while local opposition and grid pressure add further hurdles to expanding computing capacity.

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