President Donald Trump on Thursday presented the United States' highest honours for science and technology to six prominent technology executives, hours after his administration announced it was suspending Microsoft from a programme used to sponsor skilled foreign workers for permanent residency.
The National Medal of Science went to Elon Musk of SpaceX and Tesla, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang and Lisa Su, head of the chip company AMD. The National Medal of Technology and Innovation was given to Michael Dell of Dell Technologies and Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella. Trump called the group "national treasures" and described Musk as "our modern-day Thomas Edison". The ceremony was part of a summit celebrating what the White House calls a new "golden age" of science.
Five of the six honourees were born abroad: Musk in South Africa, Brin in Russia, Huang and Su in Taiwan, and Nadella in India. Dell was born in Texas. That backdrop sharpened a contradiction on the same day. Vice President JD Vance announced that Microsoft was being suspended from the green card sponsorship part of the H-1B system, which lets US companies hire skilled foreign workers. He accused the company of abusing it, saying Microsoft laid off 6,000 US workers last year while obtaining 6,300 H-1B visas and almost 3,000 green cards. Microsoft responded that most of its applications were to extend or change the status of existing employees. Vance also said universities including Stanford and MIT should be investigated for visa fraud. Asked about the timing, he said the administration would keep a "great relationship with Microsoft"; the White House did not otherwise explain it.
The awards also underline the close ties between the administration and Silicon Valley, which critics have highlighted. Musk was the largest donor to Trump's 2024 campaign and briefly led the Department of Government Efficiency before a public falling-out with the president, since patched up. Dell and his wife pledged $6.25bn to the "Trump Accounts" investment scheme for children. Huang has reportedly helped fund a planned White House ballroom, and the administration struck a deal to take a 15 percent cut of some AI chip sales to China by Nvidia and AMD. Last week, several of these leaders signed a voluntary pledge on AI safeguards.
Why this matters: the National Medal of Science, established in 1959, has mostly gone to academics and research scientists rather than business leaders. Trump has made AI central to his economic agenda and resists regulation he fears would slow growth, yet polls show bipartisan worry about the technology's pace, and living costs weigh on voters ahead of November's midterm elections. The day's events show the tension between an administration courting tech giants and one seeking to curb immigration.