Florida Governor Ron DeSantis provided an update on his criteria for candidates seeking to fill the Sunshine State’s soon-to-be open Senate seat. The seat is currently held by Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), who has been nominated to serve as Secretary of State by President-elect Donald Trump. Rubio is expected to be confirmed with relative ease, leaving DeSantis with an important decision to make.
While speaking to reporters on Tuesday, DeSantis refused to name any specific candidates, though he did list a number of requirements he is seeking in an eventual replacement. Chief among them was the issue of H-1b visas, a special immigration status that is supposed to be handed out to high-skill immigrants to fill jobs in important industries. The issue sparked a massive debate among the Trump base last month, with tech leader Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy emerging as leading supporters of H-1B expansion.
Others argued that H-1B visas undercut American wages and encourage companies to replace American workers with cheap foreign labor. The definition of “high-skilled” has also come into question, as separate visa classifications already exist to bring in a limited number “exceptional” talent. The system has also been rife