CEO James Fishback took a veiled dig at Vivek Ramaswamy as he mentioned India, maths olympiad in his recent America First speech.
Azoria CEO and ex-DOGE architect James Fishback took a dig at GOP leader Vivek Ramaswamy without naming him and said Americans should not be apologetic about who they are and nobody should lecture Americans on India’s literacy or Chinese maths. Americans won’t change their culture for a maths olympiad or for a Chemistry exam, Fishback said as he was giving a speech at Boston University College Republicans. The ex-DOGE architect has emerged as a strong anti-H-1B voice. “We don’t want ANYONE lecturing us about Indian literacy rates or Chinese math rates. Cut the crap now. We’re Americans. We’re talented. We’re smart. And no, we’re not giving up church on Sunday for more math tutoring. We’re not skipping Friday Night Lights because there’s a chemistry test to cram for. The second we stop apologizing for who we are, we will start winning again!” Fishback said. The America First CEO has been pushing for completely stopping the H-1B visa program and said that a foreigner should only come to the US for tourism. Fishback’s reference to math tutoring, chemistry test was a jibe at Indian-origin Republican leader Vivek Ramaswamy who last year created a major uproar in the H-1B controversy as he attacked American culture to justify the H-1B program. Ramaswamy said American culture worships mediocrity over excellence, celebrates prom queen over math olympiad and hence tech companies need to hire foreign employees as there is a dearth of Americans in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. While Vivek’s critique of American culture turned out to be a watershed moment for MAGA, with Vivek becoming sidelined, the H-1B conundrum still persists. The Donald Trump administration has imposed a $100,000 fee on hiring H-1Bs, making it difficult for tech companies to hire from foreign countries. Florida has recently announced a ban on H-1Bs in Florida colleges and universities as Governor Ron DeSantis revealed that instead of special positions, the colleges and universities made foreign hiring for some very basic posts, like a public policy professor from China, a graphic designer from Canada.
