Newsweek has reached out to X via email for a response to Loomer's statements.

Why It Matters

The debate over H-1B visas, championed by the President-elect's most affluent supporters but criticized by those claiming to represent his base, puts Donald Trump in the difficult position of choosing which side to placate once in office.

What To Know

H-1B visas allow employers to hire skilled workers from other countries for specialized jobs which require college degrees or significant experience.

Musk has defended foreign-born workers as essential for meeting the needs of U.S. companies, citing a dearth of homegrown talent. Vivek Ramaswamy, who alongside Musk is set to head the newly created advisory Department of Government Efficiency, has echoed these statements.

Other technology executives have also come out to voice support for high-skilled immigration programs such as H-1B, on which the sector heavily relies, including David Sacks, Trump's recently appointed AI and crypto czar, who said that focus should be directed against illegal immigration rather than employment visas.

However, other MAGA stalwarts have criticized these views, with former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon warning that billionaire Musk's "true colors" are showing.

Loomer's spat with Musk began after Trump appointed venture capitalist Sriram Krishnan as White House senior policy adviser for Artificial Intelligence. Krishnan is believed to favor removing country caps for H-1B visas and awarding them instead strictly on merit and qualifications.

Loomer called Krishnan's appointment "deeply disturbing," while also describing migrants from South Asia as "third-world invaders from India." She was criticized for failing to grasp Krishnan's proposed reforms and for being racist in her responses.

Musk's response came in the form of several reposts which stated the value of high-skilled immigration, including the story of a Turkish mathematician, Erdal Ar?kan, who left the U.S. due to visa issues, only for his work to be later used by Chinese firms in developing the transition from 4G to 5G technologies.