Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the heads of President-elect Donald Trump’s new “Department of Government Efficiency,” have found themselves at odds with some of Trump’s far-right supporters over their support for H-1B visas. which allow qualified foreign professionals to work in America.
The debate erupted during the Christmas holidays when Laura Loomera conservative social media figure who faced criticism when he traveled with Trump to a number of campaign stops criticized Trump’s appointment of Silicon Valley businessman Sriram Krishnan as a top artificial intelligence adviser.
Criticizing an op-ed by Krishnan in which he advocated lifting the country’s green card limits, Loomer called the appointment “deeply troubling,” sparking an online battle that says work visas are essential to employing highly skilled foreigners. the workers and Trump supporters argued that it was a way for employers to get cheap labor rather than provide job opportunities for Americans.
both Ramaswamy and Musk made numerous posts on X claiming that H-1B visas are essential because American culture he doesn’t prioritizing success in science and engineering careers compared to other countries.
“Our American culture has worshiped mediocrity over excellence the way too long (at least since the 90s and probably longer). That he doesn’t start at university, it it starts YOUNG” Ramaswamy has published in X.
“A A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champion, or the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers,” he added.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk (R), the newly announced co-chairman of the Department of Government Efficiency, carries his son on his shoulder after a meeting with businessman Vivek Ramaswamy (L), the newly announced co-chairman of the Department of Government Efficiency, at the US Capitol. Effectiveness, Rep. Kat Cammack (C) and other members of the US Congress on December 5, 2024 in Washington, DC
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Musk, who has it said he once worked in the United States on an H-1B visa, said he has depended on these work visas to operate his tech companies and that they are essential to the number of skilled workers needed to manage the rise of new technologies. .
“Of course, my companies and I would prefer to hire Americans and We DO because it’s MUCH easier than crossing incredibly painful and a slow work visa process,” he posted. “However, there is a severe shortage of highly talented and motivated engineers in America.”
Loomer and other far-right conservatives have also argued that the expansion of such programs would run counter to Trump’s immigration crackdown.
While he and others have accused Musk and Ramaswamy of obstructing Trump’s aggressive immigration proposals, business leaders have argued that such reforms would not interfere with the program’s extensive vetting process.
“Perhaps this is helpful clarification: I’m referring to bringing in the top ~0.1% of engineering talent through legal immigration as essential to continuing to win in America,” Musk wrote on X.
“This is like bringing in the Jokic’s or the Wemby’s of the world to help your entire team (which is mostly American!) win the NBA,” he said, referring to two foreign-born basketball stars.
Now, the businessmen are being accused of using Trump for their own personal gain.
“We are representing a third the world a third invasion of migrants the world the invasion of technology. Same shit,” Loomer posted on X. “Except for this invasion no foreign rapists who look and smell like garbage will have to do it. It will be done by the career leftist tech billionaires who hate Trump deep down.”
US President-elect Donald Trump speaks at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest in Phoenix, Arizona on December 22, 2024.
Cheney Page/Reuters
Even more, showing the division among conservatives on the issue, ex-Republican for the presidency Candidate Nikki Haley also weighed in, firing back a message Ramaswamy and arguing American workers must come first more than foreigners.
“There is nothing wrong with American workers or American culture,” he said. “All you have to do is look across the border and see how many of us want it. We should be investing and prioritizing in Americans, not foreign workers.”
in one interview with the New York Post on SaturdayTrump has called the H-1B work visa program used to work on his properties a “great deal.”
“I’ve always liked visas,” he said. “I’ve always been in favor of visas. That’s why we have them. I have a lot of H-1B visas on my properties. I’ve always believed in H-1B. I’ve used it many times. It’s a great program. .”
David Sacks, who will be elected president in June AI and crypto czar, Trump interviewed for “All In” podcast and asked Trump if he would expand H-1B jobs visas for technology workers after establishing the boundary — to that Trump he said “yes”.
In the same episode, Trump too order granting a green card to all international graduates, saying “I want to do, and what I’m going to do, is since you graduated from a university, I believe you should automatically, as part of your diploma, get a green card to stay in this country. This includes universities, too.”
His campaign later backfired promising saying there would be an examination process.
“He he thinks only after that examination place, We must retain the most talented graduates who can make significant contributions to America,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to ABC News. at that time “This It would only apply to college graduates who will never reduce wages or work in the United States.
ABC News’ Zohreen Shah contributed to this report.
