DeSantis World Goes To War With H1B Visas As Trump Faces Blowback From Base
One of President Donald Trump’s former rivals appears to want to take advantage of MAGA’s displeasure with the president’s recent statements on H1-B visas.
Trump recently met with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, who pressed him on his H-1B visa plan. The president argued that America needs to import more people because current citizens are not qualified or talented enough to do certain jobs. (RELATED: Tech Jobs Flee California as H-1Bs, Crime, Taxes and Automation Drive Out Workers)
Trump-backed candidate for Florida governor, Rep. Byron Donalds, recently spoke out against the H1-B visa program in an interview. However, DeSantis and his allies appear to be wondering why congressional Republicans haven’t decided to abandon the policy.
“Congress is the only institution in this country that can end the replacement of American workers with H-1B indentured servitude. So when sitting members of Congress talk about how they want to ‘end H-1B,’ I wonder why they haven’t introduced any legislation that would do that?” Christina Pushaw, a longtime DeSantis ally, wrote on Nov. 12 on X.
If they were Floridians, they wouldn’t need an H-1B visa to work here. https://t.co/RfjIV6rt39
– Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) November 13, 2025
Actions, not words.
Unfortunately for the American people, many members of Congress are focusing more on being influencers before becoming legislators. https://t.co/YDuCvKb0kA
– Jay Collins (@JayCollinsFL) November 13, 2025
The governor responded to Pushaw’s tweet, saying congressional Republicans who have spoken out on H1-B visas without proposing a policy to address them are using “empty rhetoric.”
“Republicans have a majority in Congress and could legislate the elimination of H1B (and any program designed to import cheap foreign labor). It’s actions, not words, that count,” DeSantis wrote.
Yet another example of how absurd the H1B arguments are. https://t.co/biz8YXBFmA
– Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) November 13, 2025
Donalds, who is running for governor and has discussed his strained relationship with DeSantis, told Benny Johnson in a Nov. 12 interview that America has the talent but citizens have not been “properly trained in our education system,” the Floridian reported. He also called for America to return to a “quota” immigration system. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Trump and DeSantis could be destined for a head-to-head rematch in key GOP primary)
“The H-1B system is a total scam. We now know that it is,” Donalds told Johnson. “We also need to look at the whole immigration visa framework. We have around 56 visas. They all need a complete overhaul, like chain migration needs to go.”
Donalds entered the race in February and has been considered the favorite ever since. His only declared Republican opponent is former Republican Speaker of the Florida State House Paul Renner, who is polling below 3 percent. In recent days, James Fishback, an investor, announced that he would formally announce his candidacy for governor.
Fishback has since attacked Donalds on X, calling him “H-1Byron Donalds” and highlighting Elon Musk’s support for the Florida congressman. Musk expressed support for the program before entering the administration.
BREAK: @ElonMusk endorsed Byron Donalds for governor of Florida. He supports H-1Byron because they both love H-1Bs, which means they both hate talented American workers. We can never accept this attack on our incredible workers in Florida. pic.twitter.com/mzI3jM9Cit
–James Fishback (@j_fishback) November 14, 2025
Other Republican politicians have expressed similar positions against H1-B visas in recent days. Indiana Republican Sen. Jim Banks wrote an opinion piece in The Blaze calling them “broken.” He argued the process had become a “scam” in an article promoting the article.
Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green announced on X Thursday that she is announcing a bill to phase out the H1-B visa program.
🚨I am introducing a bill to end the mass replacement of American workers by aggressively eliminating the H1B program.
Big tech, AI giants, hospitals and industries of all stripes have abused the H-1B system to eliminate our own people.
Americans are the most talented people… pic.twitter.com/m73Wp1MMiw
– Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) November 13, 2025
“No more H1-B is a no-brainer. Let’s do it,” tweeted Tennessee Republican Rep. Andy Ogles.
