Bessent Says H-1B Foreign Workers Should Train Americans Then ‘Go Home’

Treasury Secretary said decades of offshoring left the United States short on critical manufacturing expertise, fueling demand for temporary foreign talent.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank annual meetings in Washington, on Oct. 15, 2025. Brendan Smialowski/AFP

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says President Donald Trump envisions the H-1B visa program as a temporary pipeline for skilled foreign workers to help rebuild U.S. industrial capacity—not as a way to replace American jobs.

In an interview with Fox News’s Brian Kilmeade on Nov. 12, Bessent was asked to respond to Trump’s earlier remarks that H-1B visas are still needed because some sectors lack enough homegrown talent to meet demand. Bessent said decades of offshoring left the United States without workers trained in certain precision manufacturing specialties.