Trump honoured Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella hours after Vance announced action against the company's green-card sponsorship programme.
Microsoft said most of its H-1B applications last fiscal year were for existing employees seeking extensions or changes of status.
Five of the six technology leaders honoured by Trump were immigrants, including Nadella, Elon Musk, Sergey Brin, Jensen Huang and Lisa Su.
US President Donald Trump honoured Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Thursday, hours after Vice President JD Vance announced that the company would be suspended from a programme allowing employers to apply for green cards for skilled foreign workers holding H-1B visas. The announcement highlighted the tension between the administration’s immigration crackdown and its support for technology companies that rely on international talent.
Five of the six technology leaders honoured by Trump were immigrants. The administration has argued that exceptional immigrants can drive major technological advances while the hiring of other foreign workers harms US employees, according to AP.
Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington, has 223,000 employees worldwide. The company said most of its H-1B visa applications in the previous fiscal year were “to extend or change the status of existing Microsoft employees.”
Trump did not address the dispute over Microsoft's hiring practices when presenting Nadella with the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.
“For more than three decades, Satya Nadella has been a key figure in the transformation of Microsoft, revolutionizing the company and empowering businesses, students and consumers from all over the world with some of the most capable software ever built,” Trump said.
Asked about the apparent contradiction between the suspension and Nadella’s award, Vance said, “We’re going to continue to support Microsoft and have a great relationship with Microsoft.”
The technology leaders honoured by Trump
Trump awarded the National Medal of Science to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Advanced Micro Devices CEO Lisa Su. Musk was born in South Africa, Brin in Russia, and Huang and Su in Taiwan.
Nadella, who immigrated from India, and Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. Dell, who was born in Texas, has sponsored the government’s special investment accounts for children, known as Trump Accounts.
Nadella thanked Trump in a social media post after the ceremony.
“I’m humbled to stand alongside so many giants of American innovation and looking forward for what we can continue to do together to advance technology and drive American prosperity,” he posted.
Trump called the recipients “national treasures” and compared them to his uncle, John Trump, an electrical engineer and Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor who received the National Medal of Science in 1983.
“Such a big day in the world of science and the world of technology — this is the biggest day there is,” Trump said. “You’re going to go down in the annals of history as being great.”
The awards were presented at a summit celebrating what the administration has described as a new “golden age” of science. The ceremony took place during the same week as the separate awarding of the Nobel Prizes.
Established in 1959, the National Medal of Science has traditionally been awarded to academics and research scientists rather than business executives.
Trump promotes AI as midterm elections approach
Trump has increasingly relied on artificial intelligence (AI) to advance his economic agenda and pushed for the United States to lead its development. He refers to the technology as “super intelligence” and has resisted calls for safeguards that he believes could restrict growth.
“We have an extremely high IQ audience, for a change,” Trump joked to attendees.
The technology leaders have visited the White House frequently in recent weeks. Musk, Huang and Su sat at the head table with Trump during a state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping. Brin, Nadella and Dell also attended the dinner. Dell had visited the Oval Office on Wednesday to discuss Trump Accounts.
Last week, Huang and Musk joined other technology executives at the White House to sign a voluntary agreement on AI development. AP reported that the event followed concerns about national security and safety raised by recent AI models.
With November’s midterm elections less than a month away, Trump has sought to highlight how investment in AI data centres and related computer equipment has helped boost the stock market to record highs and increase the wealth of affluent Americans.
Polls show bipartisan concern that AI is developing too quickly, while high prices for fuel and groceries have weighed on the economic outlook for many Americans. These concerns have complicated Trump’s efforts to highlight investment in AI as an economic gain.
Vance has also called for investigations into alleged visa fraud at several universities, including Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Huang and Brin have degrees from Stanford, while Su holds multiple degrees from MIT.
The White House defended the contributions of the award recipients, saying their work would help maintain US leadership in science and technology.
“These recipients are helping ensure America keeps leading the world in innovation,” White House spokesperson Liz Huston said.
