President-elect Donald Trump appears to be siding with tech chiefs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy in a dispute over a visa program that brings skilled workers to the United States.

Trump told the New York Post on Saturday that he “always liked” H-1B visas and hires guest workers under the scheme — even though he has previously been critical of the program.

He has been locked in a debate that pits his advisors from the tech world against Republicans who want to take a tougher stance on all forms of immigration.

The controversy erupted after Ramaswamy, who was appointed by Trump along with Musk to cut government spending, blamed American culture for American companies’ decision to hire skilled workers from other countries.

“Our American culture honors mediocrity at the expense of excellence,” Ramaswamy wrote in a long, X-shaped post in which he said foreign workers improve the American economy.

“A culture that celebrates the prom queen at the expense of the Math Olympiad champion, or the valedictorian [the top student in a class]“It will not produce the best engineers,” he wrote.

The post sparked backlash from anti-immigrant Trump supporters, and Ramaswamy later clarified that he believes “the H-1B system is severely broken and needs to be replaced.”

After the debate raged online for several days, Trump told the newspaper: “I’ve always loved visas, and I’ve always been in favor of visas. That’s why we have them.”

“I have several H-1B visas on my property. I’ve been a believer in H-1B visas. I’ve used them several times. It’s a great program,” he said.

Trump moved to restrict access to the H-1B program during his first term.

Both the president-elect and Vice President-elect Jay D. Vance have criticized the visas in the past, although Vance has close ties to the tech world and in his previous career as a venture capital-funded startup that employed workers on H-1B visas.

Ramaswamy’s assertions led to widespread online controversy over the holidays, as key Republicans and far-right influencers joined in criticizing him and other wealthy figures in Trump’s inner circle.

“If we’re going to do a drop, let’s do it now,” Steve Bannon, a prominent Trump supporter, said on his War Room podcast on Friday. He went on to call Republicans’ claims to support the H-1B program a “total scam.”

Ramaswamy’s perceived view on skilled worker visas was supported by Elon Musk, the head of X, Tesla and SpaceX who was selected to co-run Trump’s proposed “Government Efficiency Administration.”

Musk Advocate for the H-1B visa program As it attracts the “top ~ 0.1%” of engineering talent.”

“Thinking of America as a professional sports team that has been winning for a long time and wants to keep winning is the right mental construct,” he wrote.

Critics posted online screenshots of job ads at Musk’s companies filled with people on H1-B visas, showing salaries of $200,000 and much less, and argued that these hires do not constitute an elite talent pool but rather a means to undercut the wages of American employees. Born workers.

Musk then responded to the “despicable idiots,” saying he was referring to “those in the Republican Party who hate racists and are unrepentant.”

“They will certainly be the downfall of the Republican Party if they are not removed,” he wrote.

He later cursed one of his critics and said he would “go to war” to defend the visa program.

Nikki Haley, Trump’s former ambassador to the United Nations and former Republican presidential candidate, has become a prominent voice arguing against Ramaswamy and Musk.

“There’s nothing wrong with American workers or American culture,” she wrote in response to X, “All you have to do is look at the border and see how many people want what we have. We should be investing and prioritizing Americans, not Americans.” Foreign workers.”

Haley, who like Ramaswamy was born to Indian immigrants, has joined opposition to the visa program through far-right online accounts.

Laura Loomer, an anti-Islam activist who regularly spreads conspiracy theories but is also known for her unwavering support for Trump, has led the online campaign with posts that have been viewed millions of times.

Earlier in the week, Loomer criticized Trump’s selection of Sriram Krishnan, an Indian-born businessman, to be the White House’s chief advisor on artificial intelligence. Loomer wrote that Krishnan was a “professional leftist” who “directly opposes Trump’s America First agenda.”

Encouraged by far-right X accounts, she also called Indian immigrants “invaders” and directed racist tropes at Krishnan.

Loomer then accused Musk, who owns X, of “censorship” for allegedly restricting responses to her posts on the network and removing her from a paid program.

Echoing Trump’s criticism about the influence of President

On Friday and Saturday, a number of other conservative and far-right accounts also complained that their messages had been restricted from reaching X.

The maximum number of H-1B visas issued is 65,000 per year plus an additional 20,000 visas for people with master’s degrees from US institutions.

recently Search by Without BordersThe immigration consulting firm notes that about 73% of H-1B visas are issued to Indian citizens, with 12% of them issued to Chinese nationals.

Trump promised that mass deportations of illegal immigrants would begin immediately after he took office.

In recent days, the president-elect has also denied that he is under the influence of Musk and other billionaires who supported his campaign.

On Sunday, Trump told a conservative conference in Arizona that he was not under Musk’s control.

“You know, they’re in like-new condition,” he told the audience at AmericaFest, organized by Turning Point USA. “All different hoaxes. What’s new is that President Trump has ceded the presidency to Elon Musk.”

“No, no, that’s not happening,” he said. “He will not become president.”