Did Vivek Ramaswamy's stance on H-1B visas cause his ouster from DOGE?

The Indian-American Republican politician Vivek Ramaswamy will be leaving the Department of Government Efficiency, commonly known as DOGE.

His departure comes hours after Donald Trump took the reins as the 47th President of United States.

Under the stewardship of Trump, tech mogul Elon Musk and Ramaswamy had introduced DOGE and were tasked with heading the agency.

His removal from the organisation was confirmed after Ramaswamy took to X (formerly Twitter) to confirm the rumours of his departure.

He wrote, "It was my honor to help support the creation of DOGE. I’m confident that Elon & team will succeed in streamlining government. I’ll have more to say very soon about my future plans in Ohio. Most importantly, we’re all-in to help President Trump make America great again!"

Ramaswamy is now preparing to run for the Governor of Ohio.

However, according to a report by Politico, this transition hasn't been as smooth as it seems. Sources say that many within the party were unhappy with Ramaswamy for the comments he made regarding H-1B visas.

In December, Ramaswamy criticised American culture, and said that tech companies hire foreign workers partly because of a prevailing mindset in the country that has “venerated mediocrity over excellence.”

He wrote, "The reason top tech companies often hire foreign-born & first-generation engineers over 'native' Americans isn’t because of an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy and wrong explanation). A key part of it comes down to the c-word: culture."

But things weren't looking good for Ramaswamy prior to the H-1B visa debate.

A Republican strategist close to Trump advisor said, "Ramaswamy just burned through the bridges and he finally burned Elon."

They further said, "Everyone wants him out of Mar-a-Lago, out of DC”

His comments on H-1B visas were apparently the last straw for the party as they ruffled the wrong feathers.

“They wanted him out before the tweet — but kicked him to the curb when that came out," said another person familiar who was familiar with Musk.

A person close to DOGE said that Musk did not think it was feasible for him to campaign for office while working on DOGE.

Trump transition spokesperson Anna Kelly said that Ramaswamy "Played a critical role in helping us create DOGE” and that his plan to run for governor “requires him to remain outside of DOGE based on the structure that we announced today.”

Prior to his move to politics, Ramaswamy was a biotech entrepreneur. He founded a company called Roivant Sciences in 2014.

He gained popularity through his controversial views on of environmental, social, and corporate governance initiatives.

Ramaswamy was considered a close confidant of US President Donald Trump.