U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended President Donald Trump‘s new H-1B visa policy on Wednesday, saying it is designed to temporarily bring in skilled foreign experts to train American workers, not replace them.
Speaking to Fox News host Brian Kilmeade, Bessent said the strategy was to rebuild U.S. manufacturing, shipbuilding, and semiconductor production after decades of outsourcing.
“The vision is to bring in these workers who have the skills – three, five, seven years to train the U.S. workers. Then they can go home, and the U.S. workers fully take over,” he said.
When criticised for such policies taking jobs away from Americans, Bessent argued that many of these positions cannot be filled locally because the expertise has long been absent in the U.S.
“An American can't have that job. Because we haven't built ships in the US for years, we haven't built semiconductors. So, this idea of overseas partners coming in, teaching American workers, then returning home, that's a home run!” he said.
Trump Says Talent Required
Bessent’s comments follow Trump’s remarks on Tuesday that America does not have talented workers to fill the jobs needed domestically, and must import talent for some sectors.
When the interviewer suggested that the U.S. already has plenty of talented people, Trump disagreed, saying, “No, you don't, no you don't … you don't have certain talents, and people have to learn. You can't take people off an unemployment line and say, ‘I'm going to put you into a factory where we're going to make missiles'”
Trump’s remarks could mean a softer approach toward skilled immigration even as his administration continues a crackdown on foreign workers.
The administration introduced a new $100,000 fee for certain H-1B petitions filed after Sept. 21, though the U.S. State Department later clarified that the rule applies only to new visa applications submitted after that date.
The fee had sparked a major lawsuit from unions, employers, and universities, who argued that the move unlawfully undermines a program central to America's tech and research sectors.
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