A fiery clash over high-tech visas has erupted within President-elect Donald Trump’s inner circle, with prominent MAGA figures taking sharply opposing sides. Steve Bannon, former White House strategist and staunch ally of Trump, has sharply criticized the H-1B visa program, calling for its abolition and even reparations for American tech workers he believes were displaced by foreign labor.
Meanwhile, billionaire Elon Musk has defended the program, further intensifying the divide within Trump’s camp.
Bannon did not hold back in targeting Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy and David Sacks—a tech entrepreneur and Trump nominee for advisory roles in cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence. He launched a blistering rebuke on his “War Room Pandemic” podcast, condemning their stance on the H-1B visa program.
“This is central to how they gutted the middle class in this country,” he said, per the Daily Mail. “And we haven’t fought these battles for years and years to allow American citizens of every race and ethnicity to be gutted by the sociopathic overlords in Silicon Valley.”
The debate centers on the H-1B visa, a program that allows skilled foreign workers to fill jobs in specialized industries. Musk and Ramaswamy have publicly supported the program, arguing that it is vital for attracting top talent to the U.S.
However, their defense has sparked backlash from hardline figures like Bannon and activist Laura Loomer, who accuse Musk and Ramaswamy of undermining Trump’s “America First” agenda. Loomer went so far as to accuse the tech moguls of betraying Trump’s vision.
Mocking calls for visa reform, Bannon declared, “No, there’s no reformation. No reform. We want it gone. We demand that it’s gone. And not just gone—we want reparations for the tech workers whose lives you stole!”
He also called for the deportation of H-1B visa holders, alongside illegal immigrants, to make way for American workers.
While Bannon and others have called for the program’s elimination, Trump has struck a different tone.
“I’ve always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas,” he said, as Resist the Mainstream highlighted. “That’s why we have them.”
Despite this, Bannon doubled down on his criticism, arguing that the program suppresses wages for American workers.
“The workers that are here on H-1B visas should be deported at the same time we’re deporting the 15 million illegal aliens Biden brought across the border to suppress wages,” he said.
The growing rift comes as Trump’s incoming administration implements strict new rules regarding social media posts by its nominees. Resist the Mainstream reported earlier that chief of staff Susie Wiles issued a memo requiring that all posts receive prior approval from White House counsel.
“No member of the incoming administration or Transition speaks for the United States or the President-elect himself,” Wiles wrote, a directive aimed at preventing unauthorized statements as Senate confirmation hearings near.
Musk, who is slated to co-lead Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has escalated the dispute further by threatening to “go to war” with MAGA Republicans over the visa issue.
Initially, Musk defended the H-1B program, highlighting its role in attracting top-tier talent to the U.S. But after facing criticism from Trump’s supporters, he proposed making it more expensive to hire foreign workers in an effort to encourage domestic hiring.
