Meta brings back Kevin Martin, a Republican, as its head of US public policy, after failing to find a Democrat to lead its lobbying team (Meta Workplace Novirodriguezcnbc)

Meta Workplace Novirodriguezcnbc: The search for a Democrat to lead its lobbying team has come up short, and now the social media giant is bringing back a Republican.

Former Twitter Executive Kevin Martin, who served as the company’s head of US public policy before leaving in 2010 to serve as acting chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, will replace Leslie Berland who left earlier this year. Martin’s work at Twitter focused on government outreach and legislative strategy.

The former FCC chairman will be headed to Facebook just as the company is about to head into a grilling from lawmakers over its data practices, following revelations that political research firm Cambridge Analytica used the social media giant to collect massive amounts of data from users without their permission.

Facebook would not provide any further information on why it was unable to find a Democratic lobbyist for the role, and instead opted for Martin. Martin did not respond to a request for comment. It’s unclear whether the company is looking to use Martin as political cover while it tries to fight back against the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

In a statement, David Aylen, a Facebook spokesperson, said: “Kevin Martin joins Facebook to lead our global communications and policy efforts around public policy, government affairs and communications.”

It was previously reported that Facebook had been searching for a Democrat to take over as its head of US public policy in recent months.

Facebook hired lobbyists from at least five lobbying firms earlier this year and set up a separate fund to pay for federal political ads as it braced itself for the fallout from the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

The company has also been handing out contracts to Republican lobbyists who used to serve in Congress, according to Bloomberg. In April, Facebook hired Mark Isakowitz of the Washington, DC-based firm Fierce Government Relations. He has previously worked as a Republican lobbyist on tech and telecom issues.

And Facebook also brought in former Utah Rep. Robert Bennett. He served as chair of the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet, during his time in Congress. He retired from office in 2011 after losing to now-Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) in a Senate primary election.

FEC records show that Bennett has lobbied for Facebook four times since April.

The social media company has also hired former Republican Sen. John Breaux, as well as former Republican Rep. Billy Tauzin, who helped author the Affordable Care Act. Both Breaux and Tauzin’s work for Facebook is focused on healthcare issues.

Facebook has tried to get more involved with Washington politics in the last year, and has spent more than $6 million on federal lobbying since it ramped up its efforts around the time of Trump’s inauguration.