Meta Hires Former DOGE, Trump Election Lawyer as Lobbyist

Meta Platforms Inc. has hired the former top lawyer for Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency as a lobbyist, according to previously unreported government filings.

Bill McGinley’s high-profile hire is the latest indication of the company’s increasingly cozy relationship with President Donald Trump and his administration.

Bill McGinley in 2007 photo.

Photographer: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc./Getty Images

Meta paid McGinley $120,000 for lobbying on “issues related to technology companies and international trade negotiations and agreements,” according to the filings covering the second half of 2025. McGinley reported conversations on Meta’s behalf during that period with the White House, Treasury Department, US Trade Representative, and Commerce Department.

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