Vivek Ramaswamy’s exit from DOGE has an Elon Musk & H1-B visa link

Vivek Ramaswamy’s H1-B visa comments

Vivek Ramaswamy, 39, in December, had criticised the current H1-B process again, calling it a “broken lottery system” and likening it to “indentured servitude.”

“I’ve long said the current H-1B system is badly broken & needs to be gutted,” Ramaswamy tweeted in December. He proposed replacing the lottery-based system with a merit-driven approach, asserting that it should focus on selecting the “best of the best.”

The H-1B system provides essential safeguards for workers, including fair wages and the ability to switch employers through visa transfers. His comments also appeared hypocritical, given his own company’s frequent use of H-1B visas, having sponsored 29 such applications.

Sources close to Musk confirmed to Politico that Ramaswamy’s departure had been under consideration even before his visa-related outburst. He “just burned through the bridges and he finally burned Elon,” a Republican strategist close to Trump advisers told Politico. “Everyone wants him out of Mar-a-Lago, out of DC.”

Vivek Ramaswamy with Donald Trump on January 23, 2024. (REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz)

Ramaswamy disses the American work culture

Ramaswamy’s criticisms of American work culture, where he claimed that mediocrity is “venerated over excellence,” further alienated him from both Musk and key Republican figures.

“A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math Olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers,” Ramaswamy had written in a lengthy post.

“Normalcy doesn’t cut it in a hyper-competitive global market for technical talent. And if we pretend like it does, we’ll have our asses handed to us by China,” he added.

Future plans

After his unceremonious exit, Vivek Ramaswamy, a former presidential candidate, now plans to run for Ohio Governor next week. Musk, now a key figure in insider politics and decisions in DC, deemed it impractical for Ramaswamy to campaign for office while co-leading the department, a source close to DOGE told Politico.

Trump’s transition spokesperson Anna Kelly, in a statement, praised Ramaswamy, saying he “played a critical role in helping us create DOGE” saying his departure was due to structural requirements tied to his political plans.

Despite this, Ramaswamy’s actual involvement with DOGE, announced in November after Trump’s election victory, had dwindled since early December. While he was still claiming he was actively involved, signing executive orders, but a source familiar with the situation told Politico that Ramaswamy had not done any major work at DOGE since early December.

On Trump’s inauguration day, Ramaswamy posted a picture on X with Musk, shaking hands, and captioned it “a new dawn”. Sources close to Ramaswamy told Politico that the two were on “good terms” even as his allies scramble to frame his departure as a calculated move to pursue the governor bid, which, if he wins, will be his first public office.

With DOGE, Trump aims to cut federal spending through Budget reductions and mass layoffs. The Trump 2.0 administration was sued four times on his inauguration day over DOGE, with three lawsuits claiming it violates federal transparency laws.