Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has defended President Donald Trump’s revised H-1B visa policy, describing it as a cornerstone of the administration’s plan to revive American manufacturing and rebuild industrial expertise lost to decades of outsourcing. In an interview with Fox News host Brian Kilmeade, Bessent said the strategy is not about replacing US workers with foreign professionals but about using “temporary knowledge transfer” to train Americans in highly technical fields such as shipbuilding, semiconductors, and heavy manufacturing.
“Train the US workers. Then go home. Then the US workers fully take over,” Bessent said, outlining the administration’s “teach-and-transition” approach to skilled immigration.
Responding to concerns that the policy could harm domestic employment, Bessent argued that the US currently lacks the necessary expertise to rebuild key industries that were hollowed out by decades of globalization. “An American can’t have that job — not yet,” he said. “We haven’t built ships or semiconductors here for years. Overseas partners coming in, teaching American workers — that’s a home run.”
Bessent’s comments come amid growing debate over Trump’s immigration and industrial policy, which aims to reduce reliance on imports while bringing back high-tech production. The restructured visa system, according to Bessent, will bring in foreign specialists for limited durations to transfer advanced skills before returning home, leaving trained Americans to sustain domestic production.
President Trump himself echoed this sentiment in a separate Fox News interview, acknowledging that the US currently “doesn’t have certain talents” necessary to meet national security and manufacturing demands. “You can’t take people off the unemployment line and say, ‘We’re going to make missiles,’” Trump said. He insisted that foreign expertise is essential in the short term to “teach Americans to do what we once did best.”
However, the president’s remarks have stirred mixed reactions within his own MAGA base, where some supporters argue that bringing in foreign professionals could undercut his promise to prioritize American jobs. Conservative commentator Laura Ingraham, for instance, pressed Trump on the potential contradiction, saying, “If you want to raise wages for Americans, you can’t flood the country with thousands of foreign workers.”
Bessent also confirmed that the administration is exploring ways to cushion American households from inflation and trade disruptions. He revealed that discussions are underway for a USD 2,000 tariff rebate targeting families earning under USD 100,000, calling it “part of ensuring families feel the benefits of strong trade policy.”
Labeling 2026 a potential ‘blockbuster year’ for the US economy, Bessent said the administration’s “Parallel Prosperity” framework — designed to ensure Wall Street growth translates into Main Street stability — hinges on maintaining a deep, liquid, and resilient Treasury market. He said the broader goal is to pair trade reform and industrial revival with domestic wealth creation.
“President Trump’s vision is simple — rebuild what we lost, retrain our people, and reindustrialize America,” Bessent said, adding that temporary foreign expertise is “a bridge, not a crutch.”
