Obama-era officials with Big Tech ties joining the Biden administration in droves

Former Obama-era officials with ties to Facebook and Twitter are joining Joe Biden's administration in large numbers as the social media companies censor President Donald Trump.

Trump's official account has been removed from Twitter, and he's also been banned from using his Facebook or Instagram accounts for the time being as a result of the Capitol riot that took place last week.

Emily Horne, who worked for Twitter's global policy communications team, has joined the incoming Biden administration as the National Security Council spokesperson. Prior to working for Twitter, Horne was assistant press secretary and director for strategic communications at the National Security Council under former President Barack Obama.

Jessica Hertz is now working on the Biden transition team as general counsel. According to her biography on the official transition website, she previously served in the Obama administration as principal deputy counsel in the Office of the Vice President, counsel to the deputy attorney general in the Department of Justice, as well as counselor to the administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) in the Office of Management and Budget. Hertz has ties to "Big Tech" as well.

When Hertz left the Obama administration, she worked as director and associate general counsel for Facebook's regulatory team, according to her biography.

Louisa Terrell, Biden's incoming White House director of legislative affairs, worked as counselor to Federal Communications Chairman Tom Wheeler during the Obama administration. After that, she worked for Facebook as public policy director before being tapped for the incoming Biden administration.

Austin Lin will reportedly serve as deputy director of technology in the White House Office of Management and Administration. He worked in the Obama administration as deputy director of information technology. After leaving the Obama White House, he went on to work for Facebook as technical program manager. 

Rachel Lieber, former Facebook director and associate general counsel, works on the Biden intelligence community transition team, while former Facebook manager of governance and strategic initiatives Christopher Upperman works on the Small Business Administration for the Biden transition. Zaid Zaid, who worked on public policy and strategic response at Facebook, is assigned to the State Department for the Biden transition team. 

Carlos Monje worked as special assistant to the president and chief of staff of the White House Domestic Policy Council in the Obama White House. He was also assistant secretary for transportation policy in the Transportation Department under Obama. After leaving the White House, he worked for Twitter as public policy director. He is now part of Biden's transition team. 

Erskine Bowles, an advisor to the Biden transition team, was a member of Facebook's board of directors until 2019. Bowles was co-chair of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform during the Obama Administration. 

Jeffrey Zients, a former Facebook board member, is coordinator of the COVID-19 response and counselor to the president, according to the Biden transition website. He's also co-chair of the Biden-Harris transition. Zients reportedly left the Facebook board in early 2020. Zients also held various positions in the Obama administration, including director of the National Economic Council and assistant to the president for economic policy.