CBS News: Trump administration to add $100,000 fee for H-1B visas

The Trump administration is adding $100,000 to the existing fee for H-1B visa applications, taking aim at a program that is used to attract highly skilled workers to the U.S. 

President Trump signed an executive order late Friday adding the new visa application fee and barring H-1B workers from entering the U.S. unless they had made the $100,000 payment. 

“We’re going to be able to keep people in our country that are going to be very productive people, and in many cases these companies are going to pay a lot of money for that, and they’re very happy about it,” Mr. Trump said.

The additional charge would impact employers including technology giants such as Amazon, IBM, Microsoft and Google, which have relied on the program to hire foreign workers. 

The plan was reported earlier by Bloomberg News.

H-1B visas are already expensive, with the cost ranging from about $1,700 to $4,500, depending on whether the visa is expedited. The fees are typically considered a business expense for the employer. 

The new fee comes amid a debate over the H-1B visa, which some critics say enables companies to hire foreign applicants at lower salaries than American workers. Some employers also award H-1Bs for entry-level roles rather than for senior positions with greater skill requirements, detractors of the program say.

Tech companies have been among the primary beneficiaries of the visa program. Amazon received the most H1-B visas of any business in 2024, Department of Labor data shows. This year, the online retailer remains the leading recipient of the visas, with more than 10,000 awarded, followed by Tata Consultancy, Microsoft, Apple and Google.

“This will ensure that the people they’re bringing in are actually very highly skilled and that they’re not replaceable by American workers. So it’ll protect American workers, but ensure that companies have a pathway to hire truly extraordinary people and bring them to the United States,” a White House aide said.

Still, Stuart Anderson, executive director of the National Foundation for American Policy, a nonpartisan research group, said the plan could backfire if it incentivizes U.S. companies to shift jobs overseas, especially in specialized areas like research and development.

“The second impact will further decrease the number of international students who have an interest in coming to study in the U.S. If there’s no opportunity work in the U.S., it’s much less likely they’ll enroll in U.S. programs,” Anderson told CBS News.

Last year, the most popular type of job for H-1B visas was software developer. To receive an H-1B visa, which is awarded by lottery, an applicant needs to have at least a bachelor’s degree in their field and have been offered a temporary job by a U.S. company.

President Trump plans to order the Labor Secretary to start a new rule-making process that would update wage levels for the program, Bloomberg reported. Currently, U.S. companies must offer the prevailing wage or the actual wage of similarly qualified workers, whichever is higher, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

The program is capped at 65,000 new visas each year, although an additional 20,000 can be issued for employees with a master’s degree or higher, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The cap and higher-degree exemption quota is already filled for fiscal year 2026, according to the USCIS. 

The H-1B program is already the most restrictive visa program in the U.S., with about 20% of applications resulting in approved workers, according to a March study from the nonpartisan National Foundation for American Policy. 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-h1b-visa-bill-100000-fee

The Hill: Trump ahead of Friday jobs report: ‘Real numbers’ will be ‘a year from now’

President Trump said Thursday that “real” jobs numbers will come next year, ahead of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s (BLS) first jobs report since he fired its leader in response to dismal numbers in July.

“They come out tomorrow, but the real numbers that I’m talking about are going to be whatever it is, but will be in a year from now on,” Trump told reporters while flanked by more than two dozen top tech executives at a White House dinner.

He said that when “huge, beautiful places, the palaces of genius” open, job numbers will improve. He did not specify what projects he was referring to.

“When they start opening up … I think you’ll see job numbers that are going to be absolutely incredible,” Trump said. “Right now, it’s a lot of construction numbers, but you’re going to see job numbers like our country has never seen.”

His comments on the jobs report come as economists are predicting more weakening in the labor market for August. The July jobs report, which sparked Trump to fire former BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, showed an average of just 35,000 jobs being added to the economy per month across May, June and July.

Her firing has raised concerns over the politicization of jobs data and whether the public should question whether they can trust future releases. White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told CNN last week, “I think they’ll be as good as they can be, but they need to get a lot better.”

The president spoke to reporters while he hosted Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Google Sundar Pichai, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, among several others, for a dinner at the White House.

At the dinner, which was slated to be the inaugural event in the newly renovated Rose Garden but moved inside due to rain, Trump asked the attendees to say how much their companies were investing in U.S. manufacturing.

A year from now? Meanwhile, how do we eat and pay the rent?

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5487439-trump-friday-jobs-report-real-numbers

Associated Press: Trump will host top tech CEOs except Musk at a White House dinner

President Donald Trump will host a high-powered list of tech CEOs for a dinner at the White House on Thursday night.

The guest list is set to include Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and a dozen other executives from the biggest artificial intelligence and tech firms, according to the White House.

One notable absence from the guest list is Elon Musk, once a close ally of Trump, whom the Republican president tasked with running the government-slashing Department of Government Efficiency. Musk had a public breakup with Trump earlier this year.

The dinner will be held in the Rose Garden, where Trump recently paved over the grassy lawn and set up tables, chairs and umbrellas that look strikingly similar to the outdoor setup at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.

“The Rose Garden Club at the White House is the hottest place to be in Washington, or perhaps the world,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement. “The president looks forward to welcoming top business, political, and tech leaders for this dinner and the many dinners to come on the new, beautiful Rose Garden patio.”

The event will follow a meeting of the White House’s new Artificial Intelligence Education task force, which first lady Melania Trump will chair.

“During this primitive stage, it is our duty to treat AI as we would our own children — empowering, but with watchful guidance,” she said in a statement. “We are living in a moment of wonder, and it is our responsibility to prepare America’s children.”

At least some of the attendees at the president’s Thursday’s dinner are expected to participate in the task force meeting, which aims to develop AI education for American youths.

The White House confirmed that the guest list for the dinner is also set to include Google founder Sergey Brin and CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and founder Greg Brockman, Oracle CEO Safra Catz, Blue Origin CEO David Limp, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, TIBCO Software chairman Vivek Ranadive, Palantir executive Shyam Sankar, Scale AI founder and CEO Alexandr Wang and Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman.

Isaacman was an associate of Musk whom Trump nominated to lead NASA, only to revoke the nomination around the time of his breakup with Musk. Trump cited the revocation of the nomination as one of the reasons Musk was upset with him and called Isaacman “totally a Democrat.”

The dinner was first reported Wednesday by The Hill.

As my little brother would have said many years ago, “Musk is cut!”

https://apnews.com/article/trump-tech-ceos-white-house-rose-garden-e234e719d96d299d2f670037f9505a9f

Daily Beast: Trump Threatens Countries Failing to Show Him ‘Respect’ in Deranged Late-Night Meltdown

The president makes vague threats while lashing out at overseas digital services taxes.

Tariff-loving Donald Trump has issued an unhinged threat against countries he claims don’t show the U.S. and major tech companies “respect.”

In a typical deranged late-night post on Truth Social, the MAGA president warned he would impose “substantial” new tariffs and block U.S. chip exports to countries that enforce digital taxes.

Trump argued that digital service taxes are designed to “harm, or discriminate” against American technology, and issued a sinister warning for if they are not dropped.

Trump has long railed against digital services taxes, including those imposed in Europe, which primarily hit U.S. tech giants, including Apple, Google, and Meta.

“They also, outrageously, give a complete pass to China’s largest Tech Companies. This must end, and end NOW,” Trump wrote.

“With this TRUTH, I put all Countries with Digital Taxes, Legislation, Rules, or Regulations, on notice that unless these discriminatory actions are removed,” he added. “America, and American Technology Companies, are neither the ‘piggy bank’ nor the ‘doormat’ of the World any longer. Show respect to America and our amazing Tech Companies or, consider the consequences! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

While not mentioning any nation by name, his comments appear to be a swipe at the European Union, whose Digital Markets Act (DMA) designates tech behemoths as “gatekeepers” and seeks to ensure they do not have a monopoly on their respective markets or abuse their powers.

The president’s warning came shortly after the U.S. and EU issued a joint statement pledging to negotiate over “unjustified trade barriers” targeting U.S. tech companies and agreeing not to impose customs duties on electronic transmissions, Bloomberg reported.

In June, Canada also pulled plans to tax American tech companies’ operations in the country to appease Trump amid threats to impose higher tariffs on imports from its northern neighbor.

Trump blasted Canada’s proposed digital tax—which would have slapped a 3 percent levy on Canadian revenue above $20 million—as a “blatant attack.”

At the time, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney “caved” to Trump by dropping the tax, originally announced in 2020.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-threatens-countries-failing-to-show-him-respect-in-deranged-late-night-meltdown

Politico: Larry Summers Says Trump’s Latest Attack on Harvard Is a ‘Prescription for Failure’

The former Harvard president says Trump’s effort to ban international students would damage not just Harvard but America.

In just the last 24 hours, the Trump administration announced it would effectively ban international students from attending Harvard University, Harvard sued, and a federal judge temporarily blocked the administration’s ban.

The whirlwind of attacks and counterattacks surrounding one of America’s preeminent educational institutions represented a significant escalation in the Trump administration’s war on Harvard. As the institution wrote in its lawsuit, “with the stroke of a pen, the government has sought to erase a quarter of Harvard’s student body.”

Harvard has been on the leading edge of the fight between the Trump administration and elite universities, and unlike some peer institutions, it has not backed down.

Former Harvard President Larry Summers has been a frequent critic of his old university, but he’s been an enthusiastic defender amid Trump’s latest attacks.

“Courage and capitulation are both contagious,” he said in an interview with POLITICO Magazine. “I am glad Harvard chose courage, because if Harvard, with all its good fortune, can’t resist authoritarian steps, who can?”

Summers argued the Trump administration’s legal case would find little merit in the courts, adding that the effort to rid Harvard of international students would only damage the United States in the long run.

“It’s hard to imagine a greater strategic gift to China than for the United States to sacrifice its role as a beacon to the world,” Summers said.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/05/23/trump-harvard-international-students-larry-summers-00367667

CBS News: 4 partners leave Paul Weiss after firm cut deal with Trump

Four partners at Paul Weiss — including the high-profile Democratic attorney Karen Dunn — are departing the law firm, a spokesperson told CBS News, after Paul Weiss drew attention for striking a deal with President Trump to avoid targeting by the federal government.

The rest of the law firm threw $40M of pro bono legal work at the corrupt Trump regime so they could continue doing business as usual.

Kudos and applause for the 4 partner attorneys who had the courage to leave.


Meanwhile another law firm (Jenner & Block) had the integrity to fight back in court and win without lining King Donald’s pockets.


ABC News: New Social Security chief tells staff he had to Google the job when he was offered it

ABC News obtained audio of Frank Bisignano’s staff meeting with managers.

The newly sworn-in head of the Social Security Administration told agency staff this week that when he was first offered the job in the Trump administration, he wasn’t familiar with the position and had to look it up online.

Frank Bisignano, a former Wall Street executive, said during a town hall with Social Security managers from around the country on Wednesday that he wasn’t seeking a position in the Trump administration when he received a call about leading the SSA.

“So, I get a phone call and it’s about Social Security. And I’m really, I’m really not, I swear I’m not looking for a job,” Bisignano said, according to an audio recording of the meeting obtained by ABC News. “And I’m like, ‘Well, what am I going to do?’ So, I’m Googling Social Security. You know, one of my great skills, I’m one of the great Googlers on the East Coast.”

“I’m like, ‘What the heck’s the commissioner of Social Security?'” said Bisignano, who now oversees one of the largest federal agencies that’s responsible for distributing retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to more than 70 million Americans.

“A former Wall Street executive”, once the head of a major financial services firm, has to use Google to find out what the Commissioner of Social Security does? He seems relatively harmless compared to F’Elon Musk and his band of DOGE stooges, but I’m still not impressed.

I’ll bet I’m a lot better with Google than he is. Am I qualified for the job? 😀

https://abcnews.go.com/US/new-head-social-security-hired-wall-street-tells/story?id=122075152

Politico: ‘Glaring red flag’: Treasury DOGE team discloses bank stock holdings

The Trump administration official overseeing the Treasury Department’s massive financial operations reported owning stock in many of the large banks and companies that do business with the department, according to disclosures obtained by POLITICO.

Tom Krause, who is also the lead official for Treasury’s DOGE team, reported hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of shares in a wide range of financial companies, including those that provide services to the unit Krause oversees.

He and two other Treasury DOGE team members — Todd Newnam and Linda Whitridge— also reported owning shares of Intuit, the parent company of TurboTax, which has lobbied heavily against IRS Direct File, a program targeted for elimination by Elon Musk and DOGE.

&c.

Who cares about a little conflict of interest when you’re working for the Grifter-in-Chief?

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/14/treasury-doge-disclosures-bank-stocks-00347972

The Street: These two industries could face mass layoffs this year

Trucking:

Trucking has typically been known as a reliable career choice, although some struggle with the isolation and long hours.

But according to Apollo’s report, the disruptions tariffs will cause to trade, especially with China, will have a negative effect on those working in the trucking industry.

The report suggests that a sharp decline in container-ship voyages from China will significantly reduce freight volumes, meaning fewer trucks will be needed to transport goods. 

Apollo estimates that imports accounts for 20% of U.S. trucking volume, which if reduced, would translate to less need for drivers. It also estimates that domestic freight activity will hit a major slowdown by mid-May, with major layoffs to follow in order for trucking companies to cope with the changes.

Add in that President Trump signed an executive order on April 28 that requires all truck drivers to be able to speak English, and even more jobs will be snuffed out.

Retail:

Another blue-collar sector that will suffer because of the tariff environment, according to Apollo, is retail.

Apollo’s data suggests that retail will also face problems due to the decline in container shipments, especially from China. This will lead to stores running out of stock and longer gaps until they are able to refill their shelves. Other items could disappear altogether if they’re too expensive to import.

In addition, Apollo predicts that declining consumer confidence in the economy and fear of spending on anything nonessential will mean a slowdown in retail shopping. After all, less sales means less money to pay staff.

Further, the tariff-driven slowdown could lead to stagflation — stagnant growth combined with high inflation — according to Apollo’s analysis.

https://www.thestreet.com/retail/these-two-industries-could-face-mass-layoffs-this-year

Business Insider: The same badge-scan strategy used in Tesla layoffs has hit federal workers

Employees at the Department of Health and Human Services showed up to their offices on Tuesday to learn their fate: If their badges worked, they still had a job. If they didn’t, they had to clean out their desks.

“I was crying the entire drive to work today,” an HHS employee told Business Insider as they waited in line.

The employee said they saw a man walk past, wheeling out his personal belongings on a desk chair after being terminated.

“I’ve seen three people who went in, and then came back out and left with tears in their eyes,” said the employee, who was eventually let into the building. “People behind me are sniffling.”

The same badge-scan strategy used in Tesla layoffs has hit federal workers