October 8, 2026 · Political Spectacle & Unusual Conduct
· Official action
Confirmed
Trump Awards Medal to Microsoft CEO Same Day Vance Suspends Its H-1B Program
On Oct. 8, Trump presented Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella with the National Medal of Technology and Innovation at a White House ceremony honoring tech executives, calling the group "national treasures." Hours earlier that day, Vice President JD Vance announced Microsoft was suspended from a federal program letting companies sponsor green cards for H-1B visa holders, saying the company "cannot lay off American workers and then replace them with foreign indentured servants." Vance said Microsoft laid off 6,000 U.S. workers last year while obtaining 6,300 H-1B visas and nearly 3,000 green cards.
The same-day contrast -- an immigration crackdown targeting the company paired with its CEO's honor -- highlighted an inconsistency in how the administration treats individual immigrants, including Nadella, who came to the U.S. from India, versus the broader H-1B workforce it has moved to restrict. Microsoft said most of its H-1B filings last fiscal year were to extend or change the status of existing employees rather than new hires, without directly disputing Vance's layoff figures.
The suspension's duration and scope were not detailed in available reporting. Nadella thanked Trump for the medal on social media.
The same-day contrast -- an immigration crackdown targeting the company paired with its CEO's honor -- highlighted an inconsistency in how the administration treats individual immigrants, including Nadella, who came to the U.S. from India, versus the broader H-1B workforce it has moved to restrict. Microsoft said most of its H-1B filings last fiscal year were to extend or change the status of existing employees rather than new hires, without directly disputing Vance's layoff figures.
The suspension's duration and scope were not detailed in available reporting. Nadella thanked Trump for the medal on social media.