A look at Facebook's lobbying operation, which spent $20M last year, as it struggles to hire and retain key Democratic staff, with a top job open since January
Wall Street Journal : Tweets: @jameshohmann , @emilyglazer , @emilyglazer , @andrewrestuccia , @emilyglazer , @jameshohmann , @jameshohmann , @emilyglazer , @llerer , @emilyglazer , @joshsternberg , @aaronhuertas , and @joshjame Tweets: James Hohmann / @jameshohmann : Facebook has been struggling since January to hire a big-name Democrat to oversee its U.S. lobbying operations, a job that would pay more than $2.5 million a year in salary, stock and bonuses. But the company is seen as toxic. @bykowicz https://www.wsj.com/... Emily Glazer / @emilyglazer : Facebook started this year with 7 Democrats & 8 Republicans on its lobbying team, before three Dems left. Now 22 Democrats & 39 Republicans lobby for FB, including outside firms on retainer, according to the WSJ's analysis of lobbying disclosure reports and sources. Emily Glazer / @emilyglazer : Joel Kaplan, Facebook's Washington leader (and a Republican), was on a sabbatical when President Biden blasted Facebook, saying “they're killing people.” Biden later sought to clarify the remarks, saying it wasn't FB itself but info on its platform that was causing fatalities. Andrew Restuccia / @andrewrestuccia : “At this point, it's almost like a scarlet letter working for Facebook.” Facebook is struggling to attract prominent Democrats in Washington Fascinating story by @bykowicz Brody Mullins and @EmilyGlazer https://www.wsj.com/... Emily Glazer / @emilyglazer : Facebook has more than a dozen openings for legal, lobbying & public-policy jobs, many pay $100,000+. Available roles inc public-policy manager for youth at its Instagram unit, director of civic governance & policy communications manager for content and dangerous organizations. James Hohmann / @jameshohmann : Democrats who have passed on Facebook's outreach include many veteran Capitol Hill aides, a senior adviser to Biden and aides to Obama, including Valerie Jarrett, per @bykowicz et al. James Hohmann / @jameshohmann : Facebook's congressional outreach to Democrats had been run since 2013 by one of Pelosi's most trusted former aides, Catlin O'Neill, granddaughter of Tip O'Neill. But she quit because of Jan. 6. And some Democratic lobbyists won't work for FB to avoid Pelosi's enmity. Emily Glazer / @emilyglazer : Facebook has been trying since Jan. to hire a big-name Democrat to oversee its U.S. lobbying. But its strained relations with the White House & Congress have some Dems wary of signing on: https://www.wsj.com/... By @bykowicz, Brody Mullins and me Lisa Lerer / @llerer : “I thought to myself, ‘Am I taking the worst job in Washington?’ ” she recalled in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. @bykowicz on Facebook's struggles to hire a Democrat https://www.wsj.com/... Emily Glazer / @emilyglazer : The job for a big-name Democrat to oversee its U.S. lobbying operations would pay more than $2.5 million a year in salary, stock & bonuses, sources said. Former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett and Capital Hill veteran Broderick Johnson are among those who have declined overtures. @joshsternberg : FB spent more on federal lobbying last year than any other company, but its influence operation in Democratic-dominated Washington is conspicuously lacking in one crucial area: Democrats. https://www.wsj.com/... Aaron Huertas / @aaronhuertas : Lol for $2.5M do it, but consider your job working the refs from the inside. “Sorry Mark, can't do that, do you *want* to start a fight with Sen. Warren?” https://twitter.com/... Josh Jamerson / @joshjame : “Democrats who have passed on Facebook's outreach include veteran Capitol Hill aides, a senior adviser to Mr. Biden and aides to former President Barack Obama, including Valerie Jarrett, according to people familiar with the job search.” https://twitter.com/...
Context & Ripple Effects
Facebook's Washington problem has been building for years. Reporting traced Zuckerberg's turn from political bystander to active operator during the Trump era, when the company bet it would fare better under a GOP administration — a bet that left it structurally thin with the party now in power.
That thinness is now acute: Biden staffers came into office already convinced Facebook was a threat to the electoral process, and today's report shows the company cannot buy its way out — a top US lobbying job paying over $2.5M has sat open since January, with figures like Valerie Jarrett and Broderick Johnson declining outreach despite $20M in annual lobbying spend.
First-order effects
- Facebook enters a Democratic-controlled regulatory debate with a lobbying bench of 22 Democrats against 39 Republicans plus outside firms — a partisan imbalance visible to every committee staffer it approaches.
- The unfilled top job forces existing lobbying staff and retained firms to cover Democratic outreach without a senior point person whom prominent Democrats trust.
Second-order effects
- Starved of in-house Democratic credibility, Facebook falls back on the strategy later reported after Haugen's leaks: dividing lawmakers along partisan lines to forestall regulation rather than persuading them.
- Rivals in tech with credible bipartisan shops gain a relative access advantage on antitrust and content-moderation bills, since Facebook's brand toxicity makes Democratic alumni reluctant to sign on at any price.
Third-order effects
- The episode marks a shift in how Washington influence works: lobbying budgets no longer convert to staffing when a company's reputation repels the other party's talent, making corporate reputation itself a regulatory asset or liability.
- If the pattern holds, platform regulation increasingly gets written by a coalition that excluded the largest platforms from meaningful pre-legislative negotiation, raising the odds of rules shaped without their input.
The trend: Big Tech's Washington influence is decoupling from lobbying dollars and hinging instead on whether each party's alumni will work for a given platform.