Donald Trump ally and MAGA warrior Steve Bannon tore into high-tech visas for foreigners Monday and ridiculed reform efforts proposed by billionaire Elon Musk in the latest skirmish in an internecine war in Trump’s circle.
Bannon, who served as Trump’s chief White House strategist and recently popped up at Mar-a-Lago –where Musk is reportedly renting a $2,000-per-night cottage – weighed in by bashing the ‘group hug’ mentality of Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who touted the program on X.
Ramaswamy and Musk’s defense prompted a furious rebuke from far right personality Laura Loomer, who accused Ramaswamy of undermining Trump’s agenda who railed against ‘tech bros’ she accused of driving Trump’s agenda.
After the rift escalated over the weekend, Bannon weighed in on his ‘War Room Pandemic’ podcast. ‘No, no. This is central to how they gutted the middle class in this country. And we haven’t fought these battles for years and years and years to allow American citizens of every race eth religion be gutted by the sociopathic overlords in Silicon Valley.’
He called out Musk and Ramaswamy, as well as tech entrepreneur David Sacks, who Trump has nominated to advise him on crypto and artificial intelligence.
‘Oh we’re just trying to reform it,’ Bannon said with dripping sarcasm.
‘No there’s no reformation. No reform. We want it gone. We demand that it’s gone. We’re going to want to fight for this,’ Bannon said. ‘And not just gone. I’ve got another alternative. We want reparations for the tech workers that you stole their lives. You stole their lives!’
Amid the fury, Trump himself weighed in Saturday, telling the New York Post, ‘I’ve always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas. That’s why we have them.’
‘You stole their lives’! Trump ally Steve Bannon demanded compensation for high tech workers as he inveighed against H-1B visas in the latest skirmish in the MAGA civil war over the issue
Bannon was unpersuaded. He said Monday, ‘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 to low-income workers.
‘American workers should be hired immediately to fill those gaps, and then we should start the discussions on reparations, on what they knowingly did to American tech workers.’
The MAGA civil war just days before Trump is set to take office came immediately before the president-elect ordered his nominees not to post on social media without approval.
In a stunning move, Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles told those who will become his top lieutenants to get anything they put on X, or other networks, cleared first.
‘While this instruction has been delivered previously, I am reiterating that no member of the incoming administration or Transition speaks for the United States or the President-elect himself,’ Wiles wrote in a memo reported by the New York Post.
‘Accordingly, all intended nominees should refrain from any public social media posts without prior approval of the incoming White House counsel.’
It was unclear what sparked the crackdown but Senate confirmation hearings for Cabinet nominees are due to start in the new year.
Earlier this week, Tesla billionaire Musk, who will head Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), threatened to ‘go to war’ with MAGA Republicans as he defended visas for skilled foreigners.
Trump sided with Musk after a fierce debate, including on social media, sent some of his supporters into a meltdown.
Trump chief of staff Susie Wiles called for nominees to get their social media posts approved
Donald Trump sided with Elon Musk in a MAGA ‘civil war’ over visas for skilled migrant workers
It also came as Democratic senators are fiercely fighting some of Trump’s Cabinet picks for his second administration.
They have little power to prevent Trump’s choices from taking their new posts.
After the 2024 election the Senate flipped red giving Republicans more seats. Cabinet confirmations only require a simple majority in the 100-member chamber.
That means, as long as Republicans stick together, Trump should be able to put his team in place in the new year.
The most controversial picks include Pete Hegseth to lead the Pentagon, and Kash Patel for head of the FBI.
Also in the spotlight are Robert Kennedy Jr., who Trump wants to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and Tulsi Gabbard, who he wants as his Director of National Intelligence.
Tulsi Gabbard and other Cabinet picks have ben told to get their social media posts approved by the incoming White House counsel
Pete Hegseth will also need to get any posts approved
The incoming White House counsel who will approve nominees’ social media posts, is expected to be David Warrington.
Last month, Trump announced that Warrington, his top campaign lawyer, would serve in the role.
Trump said: ‘Dave has represented me well as my personal attorney, and as General Counsel for my Presidential Campaign. He is an esteemed lawyer and Conservative leader.’
The recent row involving Musk was over his support for the H-1B visa program, which allows highly educated immigrants to work in the U.S. for up to six years.
Tech companies have used H-1B visas for skilled foreign workers and say they are a critical tool for hard-to-fill positions.
But some members of Trump’s movement have accused Musk, and others in Trump’s new flank of tech-world supporters, of pushing policies at odds with the ‘America First’ vision.
Elon Musk walks on Capitol Hill on the day of a meeting with Senate Republican Leader-elect John Thune (R-SD), in Washington, U.S. December 5, 2024
Robert F. Kennedy JR. will have to have any posts cleared by the incoming White House counsel
Kash Patel is Trump’s pick to head the FBI
They argue the system undercuts U.S. citizens who could take those jobs and have called for it to be eliminated.
Musk’s remarks about the visas came after Ramaswamy, who will co-run the DOGE with him, suggested that American culture was to blame for its need to hire foreign workers.
Trump’s nominees will have their social media posts approved by the incoming White House counsel ahead of Senate confirmation hearings
Incoming White House counsel David Warrington will give approval for social media posts by Cabinet nominees
On Saturday, the president-elect praised the use of visas to bring skilled foreign workers to the U.S.
In the past Trump has criticized the H-1B visas, calling them ‘very bad’ and ‘unfair’ for U.S. workers.
During his first term as president, Trump unveiled a ‘Hire American’ policy that directed changes to the program to try to ensure the visas were awarded to the highest-paid or most-skilled applicants.
Despite his criticism of them and attempts to curb their use, he has also used the visas at his businesses in the past.
