Criticizing the H-1B Visa and Falling Out of Favor with Musk
Ramaswamy Announces Run for Ohio Governor at the End of This Month,
On the 20th (local time), entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who was set to co-lead the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), stepped down 69 days after his team announcement. Officially, he stated it was to run for the governor of Ohio in the election at the end of January. However, U.S. media reported that it was actually due to the influence of his co-leader, Elon Musk.
According to U.S. political media outlet Politico on the 20th (local time), Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, mentioned recently that he wished Ramaswamy would leave DOGE. The incident stemmed from Ramaswamy’s comments about the H-1B visa, which is acquired by foreign professional workers.
Last month, during a debate among Republican lawmakers about the H-1B visa, Ramaswamy posted on social media platform X, criticizing that American workplace culture values “mediocrity over excellence.” He directly criticized American culture, suggesting that such a mindset leads tech companies to hire foreign workers.
Although Ramaswamy is also a candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential primaries, he has stated his intention to end this program. He argued that American culture idolizes mediocrity, hindering the production of top-tier engineers.
This post angered Republican lawmakers and also cooled the attitude of Musk, who had been advocating for the expansion of this visa, towards him.
In addition, sources mentioned various reasons why Ramaswamy was forced to leave DOGE. One source revealed that Ramaswamy hadn’t worked at DOGE since early December. An anonymous source sarcastically commented, “They wanted to kick Ramaswamy out even before that tweet. But once the tweet was out, they kicked him to the curb.”
Previously, on the 19th, CBS News reported that Ramaswamy left after conflicts with newly appointed agency staff. They also mentioned that people close to Musk had recently expressed dissatisfaction with Ramaswamy, complaining that he wasn’t working.
Anna Kelly, a spokesperson for the Trump transition team, said in a statement that “Ramaswamy played an important role in establishing DOGE” and explained his departure as part of his plan to run for governor.
Ramaswamy refused to comment on the discord with Musk. At a rally on the 19th, Donald Trump spoke about DOGE but did not indicate any significant changes. Trump said, “We have great people like Musk, Vivek, and those studying the issue of costs.”