Mark Zuckerberg 2020? Facebook CEO Hires Clinton, Obama Strategist

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg has bolstered his roster of hires with yet another notable former political staffer. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a foundation created by Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, has hired a former advisor and strategist to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, Politico reports.

The foundation will work with Benenson Strategy Group, a firm run by former Democratic pollster Joel Benenson, in order to conduct research on its philanthropic efforts. Benenson previously worked in the Obama administration and Clinton’s 2016 presidential bid.

Read: What Will Mark Zuckerberg Do Next? Facebook CEO Might Run For President

Benenson is the latest high-profile political consultant to join Zuckerberg’s payroll in recent months. Earlier this year, the Initiative brought on former Obama campaign manager David Plouffe along with former George W. Bush advisor Ken Mehlman. Plouffe serves president of policy and advocacy for the Initiative, while Mehlman sits on the board.

As Politico noted, the Initiative also hired Amy Dudley, who previously worked as a communications staffer with Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.). Prior to joining Zuckerberg and Chan, Plouffe was a campaign manager for Obama’s 2008 presidential run and briefly worked at Uber, while Mehlman ran the 2004 reelection campaign for former president George W. Bush.

The hire has fueled the latest round of speculation over Zuckerberg’s political ambitions outside of Facebook and a rumored presidential run in 2020. This year, Zuckerberg has maintained an aggressive travel schedule as part of his goal to visit every state in the U.S. As part of this tour, the Facebook CEO has met with residents and community leaders in states like Michigan, Ohio and Iowa. According to a Facebook note from May, part of the reason Zuckerberg had planned the trip in order to “learn about people's hopes and challenges.”

Publicly, Zuckerberg has also become relatively more politically active. In the past few months, Zuckerberg has used his Facebook profile to weigh in on issues ranging from President Donald Trump’s tweet proposing a military ban on transgender soldiers to his earlier ban on immigration from several majority-Muslim countries.

At the moment, Zuckerberg has shot down rumors about his presidential ambitions. In the same Facebook post from May, Zuckerberg denied that his tour was planned in advance of a potential run.

“Some of you have asked if this challenge means I'm running for public office,” Zuckerberg said. “I'm not.”

Personally, Zuckerberg’s cross-country tour has come at a tumultuous time for Facebook. Following the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the social network was accused of being a platform where fake news stories and misinformation grew and affected the campaign’s outcome. In addition, the company’s move into live video broadcasts have also led to a spate of videos showing killings and other violent incidents. Zuckerberg’s visits have reportedly led the CEO into a bout of self-reflection over the social media network’s social responsibility, the New York Times reported.

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Zuckerberg and Chan have also been aggressive supporters for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and its goals. The couple has previously said they plan to donate 99 percent of their Facebook shares to the foundation and want to tackle topics ranging from education funding to curing diseases. But despite Zuckerberg’s past denial, the Facebook CEO hasn’t necessarily closed the door entirely to politics. Zuckerberg's current agreement with Facebook would allow the CEO to serve in public office and still maintain control over the company, depending on his portion of owned Facebook stock or approval from the company's directors, TechCrunch reported.