Amid growing scrutiny over H-1B visas, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated that President Donald Trump is committed to protecting American jobs while encouraging foreign investment in the country. Speaking to reporters, Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump’s views on H-1B visas are “different” and “common sense.”
“The president does not support replacing American workers… The president wants to see the revitalization of America’s manufacturing industry better than ever. That’s part of what he’s doing with the effective use of tariffs and cutting good trade deals around the world,” said Karoline Leavitt.
When asked about H-1B visa review, Leavitt explained, “When it comes to the issue of H-1B visas, the president has a very diverse and healthy view on that issue. If foreign companies are investing trillions of dollars in the United States and bringing in foreign workers to make specialized products like batteries, he always wants to see that at the beginning, the president and the factories to get those manufacturing plants and factories up and running. workers in those jobs.”
Also read | Wall Street boosts Indian hiring as Trump crackdown on H-1B visas leads to move to GCC: Report
Leavitt added that Trump has been direct with foreign companies investing in the U.S., saying, “He told these foreign companies that are investing here, you should hire my people if you’re going to do business in the United States.”
Trump recently defended the H-1B visa program, saying he “loves his conservative friends and MAGA,” but says the U.S. still needs skilled foreign workers.
He also said that America lacks the talent to start a company. Speaking at the US Saudi Investment Forum on November 20, he deflected criticism from his own political base.
Trump argued that companies that invest heavily in advanced equipment can’t “open a massive computer chip factory for billions and billions of dollars” and then “hire people off the unemployment line to run it,” pointing out that foreign experts are often required to train American workers before they leave.
Trump backed his argument by saying, “You can’t go in and open a huge computer chip factory for billions and billions of dollars like they’re doing in Arizona and think you’re going to hire people off unemployment to run it. They’re going to have to take thousands of people with them and I welcome those people. This is MAGA.”
Trump added that specialized expertise must be transferred before American workers can fully assume certain roles.
Read also | H1B, Tariffs, Foreign Students: Trump Backing Away from MAGA Agenda in 2nd Term?
“People have to learn that this is something they’ve never done. But we’re not going to be successful if we don’t allow the people who are investing billions of dollars in plants and equipment to bring a lot of their own people from their country to get that plant open and up and running. I’m sorry.”
He further argued that the H-1B system remains necessary for industries that rely on expertise that cannot be readily sourced domestically. Defending his position, he said: “No, you don’t. You don’t have a certain talent… You can’t take people out of unemployment and expect them to run advanced factories or build rockets.”
His comments come as some Republican leaders step up pressure on him to scrap the program, even as Trump continues to support the need for highly skilled foreign workers.
