Meta (NASDAQ:META) is reportedly stepping up its game to land big government defense contracts, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is leading the charge.

Meta’s Military Makeover

According to Forbes, the tech giant is actively recruiting former Pentagon and national security officials to help pitch its virtual reality and AI tech to the federal government.

This move comes just months after Meta opened its Llama AI model for military use, signaling a major shift in strategy. While Meta has long had lobbyists in Washington, new job postings suggest it's going all-in.

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One job position on Meta's website seeks a public policy manager to focus on the White House, preferably with security clearance and Pentagon experience, to “lead our outreach to national security and foreign policy agencies within the Executive Branch of the U.S. government.”

In January, Meta brought on Francis Brennan, a former Trump advisor, to lead strategic communications in Washington, D.C.

Forbes reports that another new hire, who worked for an undisclosed government agency for over a decade, wrote on LinkedIn that they will focus on “intelligence sharing” with the government. “Whether it's protecting national security or strengthening the platforms that billions rely on, I'm grateful for the opportunities that allow me to give back,” the employee reportedly posted.

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Meta didn't comment to Forbes, but the intentions are clear: follow the money. Shana Marshall of George Washington University put it bluntly, telling Forbes, "If you are looking for a money spigot that's never going to get turned off, you go to the Pentagon."

Zuckerberg has also been working hard to cozy up to the Trump administration.

Courting the White House

After donating $1 million to Trump's inauguration committee, he made several moves that seemed designed to appeal to conservatives—ending Facebook's third-party fact-checking program, disbanding its diversity team, and appointing Trump ally and UFC President Dana White to Meta's board.

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Despite once saying Zuckerberg "should be jailed for life," President Donald Trump appears to have had a change of heart. The two met at Mar-a-Lago in November, and Zuckerberg attended Trump's inauguration. He even bought a $23 million home in Washington, D.C.

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Meta hasn't announced any direct defense contracts yet, but it's already working with major military contractors like Palantir (NYSE:PLTR), Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), and Booz Allen (NYSE:BAH). The company said in a statement last year, “It is in both America and the wider democratic world's interest for American open source models to excel and succeed over models from China and elsewhere.”

The shift mirrors a broader trend among tech companies. After years of avoiding military deals due to ethical concerns, firms like Google, OpenAI and Anthropic are now lining up to work with the U.S. government.

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This article 'Money Spigot That's Never Going Off'—Meta Reportedly Hiring Ex-Pentagon Officials As They Target Defense Contracts originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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