Silicon Valley Investor Faces Backlash for Dismissing American-First Hiring as ‘DEI’

A prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalist sparked a firestorm with Trump administration officials after publicly ridiculing Vice President JD Vance’s push to prioritize American hiring over foreign labor. Ankit Gupta, a general partner at Y Combinator, the influential startup accelerator, drew swift condemnation from multiple government leaders for characterizing the policy initiative as “DEI” in posts he subsequently made private on social media.

The dispute centers on the Trump administration’s proposed $103,265 fee on numerous new H-1B visa applications. The program permits U.S. employers to recruit foreign workers for specialized roles and has become the tech sector’s primary mechanism for international hiring, though conservative critics contend companies exploit it to access cheaper labor, predominantly from India, rather than train domestic talent.

Labor Department Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito responded directly to Gupta’s comments, stating that prioritizing American employment represents basic citizenship responsibility, not corporate bias. “American companies. American jobs. American workers first,” D’Esposito wrote, challenging what he characterized as Gupta’s sense of entitlement regarding foreign labor access.

FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson issued a broader critique of Silicon Valley’s labor practices, asserting that wealthy investors demonstrating contempt for American workers undermine the economy’s fundamental purpose. “The purpose of the American economy is to promote the general welfare of American workers, not provide jobs for the rest of the world,” Ferguson stated in his public response.

Y Combinator President and CEO Garry Tan subsequently clarified the organization’s position, declaring support for prioritizing American hiring and investment. The statement attempted to distance the accelerator from Gupta’s individual commentary on the divisive H-1B debate.

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon detailed what she characterized as systematic violations of employment law favoring foreign workers. She cited practices including circumventing standard job posting requirements, channeling candidates from overseas staffing firms, and exploiting visa categories like OPT and J-1 programs to access cheaper labor pools.

Immigration policy specialists offered additional perspective on the underlying conflict. John Miano, an attorney with the Federation for American Immigration Reform, argued that Gupta’s position reflects a fundamental philosophical disagreement about whether America functions as a nation-state serving its citizens or merely an economic zone.

Mary Marslender, a Republican consultant and former Trump administration advisor, detailed how technology companies allegedly circumvent hiring requirements. She cited documented cases of immigration lawyers positioning themselves to disqualify qualified American applicants and placing job advertisements in publications unlikely to reach domestic workers.

Theo Wold, formerly acting assistant attorney general under Trump, emphasized America’s historical competitive advantage in technological innovation stemmed from native talent development. He argued that replacing emerging American engineers with foreign visa holders squanders the nation’s unique combination of intellectual capacity and entrepreneurial risk-taking that produced transformative inventions from aircraft to semiconductors.