Zuckerberg names banker, ex-Trump advisor as Meta president
By AFP
January 12, 2026


Dina Powell McCormick is married to Republican senator from Pennsylvania, Dave McCormick - Copyright GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP JEFF SWENSEN

Meta on Monday appointed banker Dina Powell McCormick as president and vice chairman, tapping a former member of the Trump administration to help steer the technology giant’s massive AI infrastructure expansion.

Powell McCormick, who served on Meta’s board, will join the company’s management team as it scales what founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg described as “the massive physical and financial model that will power the next decade of computing.”

“Dina’s experience at the highest levels of global finance, combined with her deep relationships around the world, makes her uniquely suited to help Meta manage this next phase of growth,” Zuckerberg said.

In a separate post, Zuckerberg said Powell McCormick “will be involved in all of Meta’s work, with a particular focus on partnering with governments and sovereigns to build, deploy, invest in, and finance Meta’s AI and infrastructure.”

The appointment comes as Meta accelerates investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure, including data centers and energy supply.

In her new role at Meta, Powell McCormick’s banking experience will be key. She will help guide the company’s overall AI infrastructure strategy and oversee its multi-billion-dollar investments.

She will also focus on building partnerships to expand the company’s investment capacity, the company said, as Meta seeks to keep up with its big tech rivals in spending massively on AI.

An Egyptian-American, Powell McCormick spent 16 years as a partner at Goldman Sachs, serving on the firm’s management committee and leading its global sovereign investment banking business.

Sovereign wealth funds from the Middle East have become major investors in the AI infrastructure build-out and could play a role in Meta achieving its AI spending goals.

Her last job was at BDT & MSD Partners, a bank and advisory firm that has been involved in finding US investors for TikTok, according to news outlet Axios.

Her hiring continues Zuckerberg’s political pivot to the right, with Republican Powell McCormick one of the company’s most visible arrivals since Sheryl Sandberg, the former chief operating officer and member of the Clinton administration who left in 2022.

Zuckerberg has recently made a visible shift toward President Donald Trump and conservative positions, doing away with third-party fact-checking, reversing company diversity initiatives and embracing a more traditionally masculine image.

Trump congratulated Powell McCormick on the appointment in a social media post, calling her “a fantastic, and very talented, person, who served the Trump Administration with strength and distinction.”

Powell McCormick served as deputy national security advisor during Trump’s first term, a role in which she helped shape US foreign policy.

She is married to the Republican senator from Pennsylvania, Dave McCormick.




\

'Smells so swampy': Internet disgusted as ex-Trump aide lands major job at Meta

Nicole Charky-Chami
January 12, 2026 
RAW STORY


Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA), then-Senate candidate, speaks to supporters alongside his wife, Dina Powell McCormick, at an election night event in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on May 17, 2022. REUTERS/Quinn Glabicki

The internet reacted Monday to the news that a former aide to President Donald Trump has been named a top leader at Meta.

Dina Powell McCormick, former deputy national security advisor and wife of Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA), was named Meta's next president and vice chairman in a company announcement.

President Donald Trump reacted to the leadership change in a Truth Social post:

"Congratulations to DINA POWELL MCCORMICK, WHO HAS JUST BEEN NAMED THE NEW PRESIDENT OF META. A great choice by Mark Z!!! She is a fantastic, and very talented, person, who served the Trump Administration with strength and distinction! President DJT"

Social media users had a mix of reactions:

"Oh, Jesus ... Is this why you don't support the SAVE Act? Was that the price Zuck demanded? This smells soooooo swampy," user Maggie Leber wrote on X.

"Wow," Sean Logue, criminal and injury attorney, wrote on X.

"That her husband is a sitting senator from PA and sits on several committee - including Foreign Relations and Finance - is not mentioned but maybe relevant? This has probably happened before, but isn’t this the 'swamp' so many claim to be against? Ah, yes, but only for people you dislike," user KJ Schneider wrote on Bluesky.

"Good bye, Mark. Unsubscribing now from all Meta accounts," user Marc Abrams wrote on Bluesky.

"There are very good oligarchs, on both sides," retired journalist Greg Gardner wrote on Bluesky.

"More bowing to the regime," sound recordist Jesse Dubé-Smith wrote on Bluesky.