President-elect Donald Trump finds himself at a crossroads as Elon Musk, his billionaire backer, has called to expand the H-1B visa program to address workforce shortages—conflicting with the views of a majority of Americans, which polling shows opposes such measures and favors domestic solutions to labor shortages.
A Rasmussen Reports poll conducted in November found that 60 percent of Americans believed the country already had enough talented people to train and recruit for higher-skill roles, while 26 percent supported increasing the number of foreign workers for such positions.
Newsweek has contacted Trump’s transition team for comment via email.
Why It Matters
A heated dispute recently broke out between Musk and Trump’s MAGA supporters over the H-1B visa program, a highly competitive initiative that allows U.S. companies to hire foreign workers for specialized roles.
Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, whom Trump has appointed co-leads of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, have strongly endorsed the program—while immigration hard-liners, such as Steve Bannon and Laura Loomer, have opposed expanding it.
Amid these internal party tensions over H-1B visas, Trump has expressed support for the program. The clash between Musk’s vision and public sentiment reflects a broader national debate about immigration and labor policy.
Elon Musk, right, and President-elect Donald Trump watching the launch of a SpaceX Starship rocket in Brownsville, Texas, on November 19. Trump is navigating a political minefield as his America First stance collides with billionaire backer Elon Musk’s calls to expand the H-1B visa program to address workforce shortages.
Brandon Bell/Getty
What To Know
Industries such as technology, finance and academia are among the most frequent participants in the H-1B visa program. In 2024, major corporations—including Amazon, Google and Meta—secured thousands of H-1B visas. Tesla, Musk’s electric car company, reportedly brought hundreds of employees to the U.S. through the program.
The program has a federal cap, with 65,000 new H-1B visas issued annually. Additionally, petitions for 20,000 beneficiaries holding a U.S. master’s degree or higher are exempt from this limit, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
These visas grant workers temporary authorization to reside and work in the United States.
Trump has previously supported policies that limit immigration and prioritize American workers. During his first administration, he implemented measures to tighten immigration rules, including restrictions on H-1B visas.
According to the Rasmussen Reports poll, in addition to respondents saying the country had enough talented people for higher-skill roles, 59 percent believed companies facing shortages in sectors such as construction, manufacturing and hospitality should focus on raising wages and intensifying efforts to recruit unemployed Americans, even if it resulted in higher consumer prices. Only 24 percent of respondents supported recruiting foreign workers to keep costs down.
What People Are Saying
Erin B. Corcoran, an associate teaching professor at the Keough School of Global Affairs, University of Notre Dame, told Newsweek: “The incoming administration has made comments suggesting a significant tightening down on existing visa programs, including student visas and H-1B (high-skilled worker visas).
“These comments have created significant concern at institutions of higher education, particularly with international students and faculty who are here on student visas or H-1B visas.”
Musk wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on December 27: “The reason I’m in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla, and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B … I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend.”
Trump told the New York Post in a phone interview on Saturday: “I’ve always liked the [H-1B] visas, I have always been in favor of the visas. That’s why we have them … I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program.”
Representative Tim Burchett, a Republican from Tennessee, wrote on X on Sunday: “I side with President Trump on the H-1B visa issue, but every single person who comes over needs to be vetted rigorously and be willing to fully embrace the USA.”
What Happens Next
The president-elect, who campaigned on a hard-line immigration policy, is set to return to the White House on January 20. As Trump and the GOP grapple with internal pressures over H-1B visas, their next steps could determine the direction the Republican Party takes regarding the program.
