Laura Loomer, an activist for President-elect Donald Trump‘s Make America Great Again (MAGA) political movement, issued an apology to entrepreneur Sriram Krishnan amid a dispute among the MAGA base over H-1B visas in which tech billionaire Elon Musk has fanned the flames.
Newsweek reached out to Loomer via online form and Krishnan via social media direct message for comment Sunday afternoon.
Why It Matters
This week, an intense row erupted among Trump’s supporters over H-1B visas, a highly competitive visa program allowing American companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations.
Loomer, who runs her own news site called Loomered, began the online fight when she criticized Trump’s appointment of Krishnan as his senior policy adviser on artificial intelligence (AI). Loomer noted Indian-born Krishnan’s previous support for eliminating some caps on green cards and making it easier for skilled foreigners to work in the United States, which Loomer claimed on X, formerly Twitter, was “in direct opposition” to the Trump agenda.
Musk has vehemently backed the visas and his future co-leader of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, has also voiced support for bringing skilled foreign workers into the U.S.
What To Know
Early Sunday morning, Loomer posted to X: “I deeply apologize for accidentally doxxing Sriram @sriramk by sharing public FEC records with his personal info. It was an honest mistake, and I take full responsibility. I’ve removed the post and I promise that I will be more careful in the future when I post FEC records.”
In a recent X post, Loomer claimed Krishnan donated to Vice President Kamala Harris‘ 2024 presidential campaign, according to The Times of India.
Loomer asked Krishnan in the post, “Why did you donate to Kamala Harris’s Presidential Campaign less than one month before the 2024 Presidential election? You did even vote for Trump,” adding, “Now you want to infiltrate his admin?” the newspaper reported.
According to FEC records, there was a Sriram Krishnan who donated over $1,000 to the Harris for President committee and $10 dollars to the ActBlue political action committee (PAC), but there is not enough identifying information to confirm that it was the same Krishnan that Trump tapped as his AI adviser.
Before her Sunday post, Loomer wrote on X on Saturday night, “I was not trying to inflict harm on anyone, & if @sriramk felt as though I was trying to ‘doxx’ him, I sincerely apologize for that. I promise I wasn’t doxxing & I believe more speech is the answer. Not less. @elonmusk.”
The last part of her post was an apparent dig at Musk, who Loomer accused of “full censorship” after her premium account on the social media site was deactivated, claiming it was retaliation for her criticisms of H-1B visas.
In a follow-up post from Saturday night, Loomer remained firm in her opinion of H-1B visas and dug more into Musk, writing, “I won’t apologize for my views on immigration but I wanted to make it very clear that as a journalist I was posting publicly available FEC records. Not doxxing. I know @elonmusk doesn’t care because he doesn’t like me, but I am telling the truth. FEC makes that clear too.”
Meanwhile, on Thursday night, Musk wrote on X, “Just a reminder that the algorithm is trying to maximize unregretted user-seconds. If far more credible, verified subscriber accounts (not bots) mute/block your account compared to those who like your posts, your reach will decline significantly.”
What People Are Saying
Tech entrepreneur David Sacks on Wednesday via X: “Sriram [Krishnan] has been a U.S. citizen for a decade. He’s not ‘running America.’ He’s advising on A.I. policy. He will have no influence over U.S. immigration policy. These attacks have become crude, and not in the holiday spirit. I’m signing off now. Have a merry Christmas.”
Musk on Friday via X: “The reason I’m in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B. Take a big step back and F*** YOURSELF in the face. I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend.”
Ramaswamy on Thursday via X: “Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long.”
He added in a Friday post, “I’ve said it countless times in the last 2 years & will say it again: the H-1B system is badly broken & should be replaced with one that focuses on selecting the very best of the best (not a lottery), pro-competitive (no indentured service to one company), and de-bureaucratized.”
Trump told the New York Post in a phone interview on Saturday, “I’ve always liked the [H-1B] visas, I have always been in favor of the visas. That’s why we have them.”
He added: “I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program.”
What Happens Next
Once sworn into office on January 20, Trump could struggle to placate both those in business who believe skilled legal migration boosts the U.S. economy and those of his supporters who think it takes place at the expense of American workers.
The post Laura Loomer Issues Apology Amid H-1B Fight With Elon Musk appeared first on Newsweek.
