Washington’s Special Rules For Tech Oligarchs Reportedly Let Mark Zuckerberg, Google CEO Off Hook

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley allegedly agreed to spare Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai from testifying in a scheduled hearing after the White House intervened on their behalf, Politico first reported Wednesday.

Grassley agreed to allow lower-profile executives to testify in their places at the hearing scheduled for July 28, Politico reported, citing five sources familiar with the events. In return, the White House said it would support the James T. Woods Act, a package that would combat online child exploitation.

YouTube CEO Neal Mohan would appear for Google and Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri would stand in for Zuckerberg, according to Politico. Snap CEO Evan Spiegel and TikTok CEO Adam Presser would also be expected to testify.

The James T. Woods Act would expand the federal framework for combating the online exploitation of children by establishing new criminal offenses, expanding new criminal offenses and facilitating the prosecution and sentencing of offenders. Grassley and Democratic Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin introduced the legislation in the Senate.

A White House official confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation that it supported the James T. Woods Act but didn’t address whether any Trump administration officials intervened on the behalf of either of the tech leaders to make a deal with Grassley. “It is perfectly normal to endorse a bipartisan technology bill,” the White House official added.

“Chairman Grassley isn’t interested in simply generating clicks and views online like past hearings. He’s working to get lifesaving child safety legislation actually signed into law,” a spokesperson for Grassley told POLITICO. “The Grassley-Durbin James T. Woods Act is hugely bipartisan and widely supported because it’s universally recognized this bill will save kids’ lives. Chairman Grassley is committed to being an effective senator, conducting oversight of Big Tech and getting laws passed that will protect America’s children.”

“After a back and forth, the White House agreed to publicly support Grassley’s James T. Woods Act on the condition that Grassley permit lower-profile executives from Meta and Google to testify, according to the same three people.”https://t.co/NUMyo2rHh3

— Michelle L. Price (@michellelprice) June 25, 2026

The Senate Judiciary Committee did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

Grassley called on Zuckerberg, Pichai and the chief executives of TikTok and Snap to testify at the hearing, which was expected to focus on child online safety, according to Politico. Social media companies faced litigation under the same types of product-liability laws that states used to target cigarette makers.

Meta representatives met with the White House about the hearing in late May and early June, according to Politico. They expressed concerns to committee staff that the hearings would increase negative attention arising from the child online safety litigation.

Meta and Alphabet, Google’s parent company, did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

Zuckerberg attempted to avoid testifying at several trials related to social media, which angered many plaintiffs, the New York Post first reported.

Zuckerberg has built a cordial relationship with Trump following his 2024 election victory, including a visit to Mar- a- Lago and attending Trump’s January 2025 inauguration. Zuckerberg attended the UFC’s Freedom 250 event on June 14 at the White House on Trump’s 80th birthday.

Trump reportedly showed off text messages Zuckerberg exchanged with him to confidants after the 2024 election, according to Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan’s recently published book, “Regime Change.”

Meta settled a $25 million lawsuit with Trump just days after Trump’s Jan. 20, 2025, inauguration to resolve a 2021 lawsuit over the indefinite suspension of his Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Meta refrained from publicly voicing any resentments the company might have harbored toward Trump when the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) took Meta to court for allegedly violating antitrust laws. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, an Obama appointee, ruled in favor of Meta in November 2025.

YouTube, which is a subsidiary of Google, agreed to pay Trump $24.5 million in September 2025 to settle a lawsuit after the platform banned Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol. The settlement followed a May 2025 visit to Mar- a-Lago by Pichai and Google co-founder Sergey Brin.

Meta and Google both donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund.