CNN’s Scott Jennings broke down Republicans’ arguments on Friday after a feud broke out online over the use of H-1B visas.
Department of Government Efficiency co-heads Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy came under fire this week after a debate over H-1B visas erupted on X. On “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” Jennings was asked about the feud highlighting a division on policy within Trump’s base and whether it could harm the unity within the party so far.
“Look, there’s always been a push and pull on this in the Republican Party. I think there’s a way to work this out and solve it,” Jennings said. “I think what a lot of people would say is, Elon Musk was making this point, if you take the top 1% or the top 0.1% of the most talented engineering people from other countries, that’s perfectly fine. H-1B visas for that, they’re unique, they have unique talent, unique innovative skills, fine.”
“If you’re using the H-1B program to abuse it, to recruit interns, accountants, other people that easily could be recruited from the United States of America, all because you just want to do it cheaper, that’s not fine,” Jennings added.
Jennings went on to say how there could be a way to “retain” top visa performers, but he called out Ramaswamy for his take as it had “rightfully” angered supporters.
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“So I think what a lot of people in the party want to do is eliminate the fraud in this H-1B program, retain the top engineering talent, and there’s a way to do this,” Jennings said. “What Ramaswamy did yesterday was not a great communications exercise, and it did anger a lot of people in the president’s coalition, and I think rightfully so.”
The debate over H-1B visas, one of the largest visa categories in the country, began with their use in the tech industry by users on X. According to the Department of Labor, the visas allow employers to hire skilled foreign workers and authorize “the temporary employment of qualified individuals who are not otherwise authorized to work in the U.S.”
While Musk simply commented “correct” in response to an X user’s claim that a slowdown in skilled immigration would ultimately hinder American innovation, Ramaswamy elaborated, saying how American culture uplifts “mediocrity over excellence.”
“Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long (at least since the 90s and likely longer). That doesn’t start in college, it starts YOUNG. A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math Olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers,” Ramaswamy wrote.
Since Musk’s involvement in Trump’s campaign, Democrats have begun to ramp up their criticisms of Musk and his role in Trump’s second administration, with Democratic lawmakers like Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut referring to the billionaire as “President Musk” after he called out Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson’s original 1,574-page continuing resolution (CR).
(Featured Image Media Credit: Screenshot/CNN/”The Lead with Jake Tapper”)
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