July 11, 2026 • 29 mins
1. H-1B Visa Program and Microsoft Layoffs
- A federal judge's decision to block a Trump administration policy that would have increased H-1B visa application fees from a few thousand dollars to $100,000 per application.
- Arguments that the higher fee was intended to prioritize American workers over foreign workers.
- Microsoft layoffs, particularly within its Xbox division, while simultaneously employing or seeking H-1B visa workers.
- Criticism from lawmakers, immigration-reform advocates, and social media users who argue that companies are replacing American workers with foreign labor.
- Support for tighter immigration controls and increased investigations into alleged H-1B visa abuse.
2. Trump Administration's Anti-Fraud and Immigration Efforts
- President Donald Trump
- Vice President JD Vance
- Federal labor investigators
- Investigations into alleged fraud involving H-1B visas.
- Claims that government benefits and programs have been vulnerable to abuse.
- The administration's position that stricter enforcement is necessary to protect American workers and taxpayers. [7-11-26 | Txt]
3. China-Russia Joint Military Exercises
The next major segment shifts to foreign policy and national security.
Topics include:
- Joint Chinese-Russian naval exercises called "Joint Sea 2026."
- Cooperation involving warships, submarines, air-defense operations, reconnaissance, and maritime strike training.
- Analysis suggesting China and Russia are strengthening military coordination.
- Concerns that the exercises are intended to challenge or counter U.S. influence in the Pacific region.
- Discussion of implications for Taiwan, NATO, and broader global security.
4. Alleged K-12 Education Fraud
- Reports of more than $225 million in suspected K-12 education fraud.
- Alleged misuse of federal education funding through false invoices, fake vendors, duplicate billing, and grant abuse.
- Arguments that fraud diverts resources away from students and teachers.
- Claims that stronger auditing, oversight, and enforcement are needed.
- Praise for the Trump administration's efforts to investigate government waste and corruption
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
There is anger erupting right now as US brand fires
one thousand, six hundred employees after securing thousands of foreign
worker visas. One lawmaker now calling to end the H
one B foreign worker program entirely to prioritize American workers first. Now,
(00:22):
this also comes as the President was saying, you need
to pay a premium to secure these types of visas,
and of course a liberal judge is slapping that down.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
You did, John good evening to you. This came out
of Boston. A federal judge in Boston ruled today the
one hundred thousand dollars payment the Trump administration demanded employers
pay to bring applicants from overseas to work here in
the US is considered a tax, and that the White
House doesn't have the power to unilaterally impose such a fees.
The latest court case that found President Trump unlawfully acted
(00:53):
without express congressional approval. The policy put into effect last
year up the fee from between two to five thousand
dollars to one hundred thousand dollars per application to have
employers bring up to between sixty five and eighty five
thousand high skilled foreign tech and university workers to the
United states each year with what's called a H one
B visa. According to court records last year, there were
(01:16):
about three to six years that these lasted. The H
one B program was created in nineteen ninety. The judge
today rights here the substance and application of the one
hundred thousand dollars payment reveal that it is a tax,
regardless of what the payment is called. The higher fees
were designed to prioritize US citizens over foreign workers. In
a statement, a White House spokeswoman says, the administration will
(01:38):
appeal and feel confident.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
So there you can see how the present feels about
this issue and why. Well. A popularly US based gaming
brand owned by Microsoft is now facing a fury after
mass employee layoffs occurred in the wake of the company
being approved for thousands of foreign worker visas. Microsoft announced
that it will layoff four thousand, eight hundred people total,
(02:03):
and one thousand, six hundred from the corporation's Xbox division,
which makes and sells the dominant video game console you
not as Xbox. Meanwhile, Microsoft has also at the same time, well,
they've been approved to hire from foreign countries two thousand,
two hundred and seventy three employer sponsored non immigrant workers
(02:28):
under what is known as the H one B visa
program that all coming from the data from the US
Citizen and Immigration Services known as the USCIS. Now, there
are a lot of people that are angry about this,
claim that American jobs are being unfairly handed to foreigners
in an effort to cut labor costs, but at a
(02:49):
cost of leaving US workers well without a job. Quote.
A great way to fix this is to throw anyone
doing this in prison. That's what one you use are
on XD. Another one said, fire Americans and replace with
thousands of visa workers straight to jail and asset sezed. Now,
(03:09):
this story has happened over and over again, but it
seems to be getting worse. Another social media user said
it is the fault of our government for approving the
H one bs, referring to the visa saying our government
has sold us out of jobs at home and those
being moved to other countries. Another described the H one
(03:30):
B program as industrial scale job theft from Americans. Now, Microsoft,
to put in perspective, is the sixth largest beneficiary of
the H one B visa program. It's overwhelmingly dominated by
workers from India. The company has even more H one
B applications pending as well. Not to be clear, Microsoft
(03:52):
has employees worldwide, but most are in the United States
of America. Disproportionately. These decisions are based on one business
need not visa status. H one B employees were also
impacted by job eliminations in the US. Is what a
microspot Golly is what a Microsoft spokesman told Fox News
(04:14):
Digital when they were asked about the shocking layoffs. Quote,
every single employer is exploiting the H one B visa
program is what the Project for Immigration Reform said, and
lawmakers are even calling for a complete end to the
non immigrant visa program. This is insane. Legal immigration is
(04:35):
a major problem. These companies, especially big tech, are abusing
these immigration programs to replace American workers with foreign workers.
Is what Representative Riley Moore, a Republican from West Virginia, said,
saying no more, it's a long past time to end
the H one B scam. Now, Xbox CEO side of
(04:57):
the company's financial health for their layoffs, saying vote our
business today is not healthy. We are operating at margins
that are three to ten x lower than comparable platforms
and publishing businesses. They also added that the strategy is
to reset Xbox now. Many critics, however, claim that the CEO, well,
(05:18):
she's full of it, and also claiming that her Indian
heritage played a major role in firing the Americans given
the percentage of HEB workers from India. She was actually
born just to put in perspective in Wisconsin. But that
is the fight online now. The Vice President JD. Vance
also announced on Tuesday a large scale investigation into H
(05:42):
one B visas.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
One of the reasons why I personally care so much
about fraud. I want to save every single one of
you money, but I also want to ensure that when
a young mom goes in to get some prenatal vitamins
and she can't afford them, she's able to get access
to them because a fraudster hasn't taken advantage of that program.
Part of what we're trying to do is to ensure
that these programs exist for the next generation. Look, just
(06:08):
take one of the biggest, the biggest federal programs out there,
Social Security. People to pay into Social Security for their
entire working lives every single day or every two weeks.
I should say, we get a paycheck and we see
on that paycheck, the amount of money that is going
to Social Security. I am worried that if we don't
stop sending Social Security checks to illlegal immigrants, that people
(06:31):
who paid into it for their entire lives are never
going to have access to that money. That's a scam
and it's totally unacceptable. So the most important thing we
can do to ensure those benefits exist for the people
who earn them is to make sure that the fraudsters
don't get them, that the American people.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Do jd Vance making it clear that all types of
fraud are exactly what they're going after each and every day.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
Now.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
The Vice President also went on to say at that event,
this today, I'm proud to announce that the Federal Department
of Labor has started dozens of subpoenas and investigations into
foreign fraudsters who are trying to take advantage of the
H one B visa program. American jobs ought to go
to American workers and not foreign fraudsters, and the Department
(07:19):
of Labor is fighting back against it now. Recently, President
Donald Trump tried to limit employer's use of the H
one B program by as you heard earlier, imposing one
hundred thousand dollars fee for companies seeking an H one
B application, a federal judge striking down that order, and
that is going to mean that there's going to be
(07:40):
a bigger fight moving forward. What you can expect from
the President of the White House says they're going to
fight this all the way until the end. They believe
that they have the right to do exactly what they
did with the H one B application program. The federal
judge saying, well, this amounts to attacks, and only Congress
has the ability to to impose a tax, not the president. Well,
(08:04):
maybe it's time for Republicans to move on this in Congress.
Americans are certainly watching right now and seeing what happens next.
But if there's anything you can count on, it's clearly this.
The Trump administration has made it abundantly clear it doesn't
matter what type of fraud that you are involved in,
we will find you, we will hunt you down, we
(08:26):
will charge you at crimes, we will send you out
of this country if we need to. And we're not
backing down. And there's not a single government program that's
off limits from them investigating. And that is part of
the reason why you're seeing fraud in education and even
with work visas. It's clear Democrats knew this was happening
and deliberately look the other way for years. Well, now
(08:49):
President Trump is saying, We're going to expose it all.
We've been focusing so much about the World Cup and
the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the greatest country
in the world, America. But there is a lot of
other news happening. Some of it deals with national security,
and we're now learning that the Chinese Defense Ministry has
announced that China and Russia are going to be teaming
(09:13):
up to hold major joint naval exercises in July. Why
are they doing this is the big question. Their answer
the world is this to quote counter maritime security threats
quote unquote. Now, the exercises, we're being told, will begin
in Chinese waters, but will then move to what they
(09:35):
describe as relevant areas of the Pacific Ocean. Yes, that
is concerning, especially when you have China and Russia teaming
up in a military exercise. The exercise is being dubbed
Joint C twenty twenty six, and it will begin they say,
near China's port city in the eastern Shengdang Province. Now,
(09:58):
the last Russian involved in the exercise arrived in those
waters over the weekend, we're also being told, and the
exercises will reportedly be held from Monday, July sixth, all
the way until July thirteenth. According to Chinese state run
at Global Times, the Russian force includes the guided missile
(10:21):
cruisers and many of their new frigates, as well as
their submarines and a rescue ship as well. China contributed also.
They say two guided missile cruisers plus the frigate known
as the Wuhu and a supply ship. A submarine rescue
ship also was there and another quote unnamed submarine. Now.
(10:46):
The Chinese Defense Ministry said this exercise would include three phases,
one being force assembly, then port planning and coordination, and
then most importantly, they say, joint operations at sea between
Russia and China. They say the port phase will primarily
include planning sessions and seminars on land, plus mutual ship
(11:10):
tours and then a friendly basketball match as well to
show how tight China and Russia are with one another.
The livelier at sea phase, as they described it, will
feature a range of training scenarios including joint reconnaissance, air
and missile defense, and maritime strike operations as well. Now
(11:32):
this is concerning because you don't see every day Russian
and China doing these types of exercises and maritime strike
operations and missile defense and air defense and reconnaissance. This
shows a very new cooperation between Russia and China, two
countries that typically do not trust anyone, and allowing each
(11:53):
other to come on board their ships, train together, and
coordinate together tells you just how important this alliance is
between the two nations. Now, the presence of advanced frontline
surface combatants, they say, are also important. Many of their
cruisers are intended to show how seriously, they say, Russia
and China take their maritime security threats, although the press
(12:17):
release were notably led on details of where those threats
actually might be coming from at all. One of the
state of aims or the exercises to reduce, they say,
perceive threats to key maritime strategic corridors posed by certain
regional countries, and that's why they say they need to
do these exercises now, they say, through the joint exercises,
(12:41):
the two sides seek to demonstrate their ability to keep
these sea lanes open and operate further into the Pacific,
the Chinese military experts are now saying to the Global Times,
obviously that is Chinese propaganda. Song also added that the
joint exercise is intended to quote deter unilateral actions by
(13:03):
certain countries. Obviously they're referring to America, and they say
resists historical revisionism and discouraged behavior scene as undermining the
security and the well being of our neighboring countries. Which
offered a few more clues about who the Chinese and
Russian sailors are actually training to fight. You guessed it,
(13:25):
it would be in large part the United States. They said,
the unilateral actions by certain countries, well, that has also
been used before by the Chinese Communist Party. It is
language that they use almost exclusively about the United States
of America and the Asian Pacific region. Recent historical revisions
(13:47):
is a thinly veiled slam at countries like the US
and then Japan as well as the Philippines for challenging
China's expansive claims to control the entire South China see region.
They're making it known what they think about all of this. Now,
the Kremlin was a bit less well blunt about their
(14:08):
actions on Monday, insisting that the joint C twenty twenty
six drills were not meant to threaten or intimidate any
particular country. Obviously, China's in a much stronger position, they feel,
and Russia is in a much weaker position, especially with
the Ukraine War and how they've been isolated from the
rest of the world's economy. As for our joint exercises,
(14:30):
Russia says they are not directed against anyone nor against
any single state in the region. Everyone should bear this
in mind, is what the Kremlin spokesperson said publicly. Now,
Russia also went on to say this on the contrary,
cooperation between Russia and China in such an important critical
area is a very significant factor that contributes to predictability
(14:54):
and security in the region. Now, military analysts around the
world they're all watching these exercises very carefully because they
reveal several important trends. And that first is Russia and
China now believe they have a truly common strategic interest,
and that interest is reducing America's influence around the world.
(15:14):
That is obvious. They don't have to agree on everything,
but both governments oppose what they see as a US
led international order, and these joint military exercises are sending
a message that they can coordinate their forces if needed. Secondly,
they're also learning from one another. Russia, we now know,
(15:34):
has accumulated years of real world combat experience in Ukraine,
everything from drone warfare to electronic warfare to missile defense.
And China is one of the largest and most technologically
advanced militaries, but it hasn't fought a major war literally
in decades. Reports this year indicate Chinese forces have secretly
(15:56):
trained Russian troops in areas such as drone operations and chemical,
biological and radiological defenses, while Russia shares lessons learned from
the battlefield in Ukraine. China, of course, they lie. They
deny it has ever provided military support in the war,
but our intelligence agencies say military cooperation has deepened significantly.
(16:19):
And then there's a third reason for these exercises. Every
time two militaries operate together, they improve communications, they improve logistics,
command structures, and they learn how to work together. That
means if a future crisis develops, whether it's in Taiwan
or the South China Sea, Europe or elsewhere. They're much
(16:41):
better prepared for coordinating than they ever have before. Now,
this doesn't mean that WORL War III is around the corner,
but it is important to understand that Russia and China
are not a formal military alliance like NATO. Neither country
is committed to automatically going to war on behalf of
one another. They each still pursue their own national interests first,
(17:03):
but this is an area where they clearly want to cooperate,
and the trend well, it's unmistakable if you ask military experts,
because these two countries, as I mentioned earlier, they don't
trust anyone, and for them to dramatically expand over the
last several years the way they have and now have
joint exercises that are literally reaching record levels, it means
(17:26):
something now that United States may have to prepare for
the possibility of managing multiple security challenges at once to
during Russia and Europe while also maintaining stability in the
Indo Pacific and then American allies including Japan, South Korea, Australia,
NATO members and others are likely to continue increasing defend
(17:47):
spending and military cooperation and response as well. This is
exactly why you have to have a strong military presence,
and it also raises the stakes anytime there's a crisis
involving Taiwan now or even Eastern Europe, because if Russian
and China are coordinating more closely, then lawmakers, policymakers, they've
(18:08):
got to think through how one regional conflict could actually
affect another. So today's military exercises and they'll be going
on for a whole week, they don't necessarily mean a
conflict is imminent. What it does mean is that Russia
and China are turning over a new leaf and looking
to work together to try to stop American influence around
(18:29):
the world. Now, the partnership ultimately becomes a true military
alliance if they decide to actually get involved in attack somewhere.
So far, China has not been willing to do that
in decades. But what we do know is there's a
lot of people asking a lot of questions right now
about Taiwan and what could this mean if Russia decide
(18:49):
to get involved with China in that way. Only time
will tell, but it certainly means that the United States
America must be paying attention and watching like never before.
President Donald Trump giving us another example of why the
Trump administration says rooting out government waste, government fraud and
abuse isn't just a campaign slogan, It's a governing priority
(19:14):
of this administration. There is new explosive reports out that
allege that investigators have uncovered more than two hundred and
twenty five million and suspected K through twelve education fraud,
adding to what the administration says, a growing list of
cases where taxpayer dollars intended for America's children instead end
(19:36):
up enriching bad actors. Now, it's also important to make
one major distinction right at the beginning of this conversation. Now,
these are allegations and investigative findings, not criminal convictions yet.
But if even a fraction of these allegations are ultimately
proven true, taxpayers have every reason to be enraged by
(19:59):
the steel of your dollars. And it also explains why
public education is failing our young people. Think about this
money and what it was supposed to do. It was
supposed to buy textbooks. It was supposed to help children
learn to read, to deal with learning disabilities, and support.
It was supposed to fund special education services for a
(20:21):
multitude of children. It was supposed to pay for classroom technology, tutoring,
even transportation, school meals and resources for the teachers. Instead,
according to investigators nationwide, millions and millions and millions of
dollars have been diverted through fraudulent schemes that were easy
(20:43):
to catch. Clearly, the school district's choosing to look the
other way, and that is exactly why President Trump has
repeatedly argued that Washington needs far more oversight of taxpayer spending.
And let's be clear, throughout Trump's second administration, he's been
fighting fraud and it's become a centerpiece of his domestic agenda.
(21:04):
Now it doesn't matter what type of fraud it is.
Could be medicaid fraud, Medicare fraud, pandemic relief abuse, unemployment
insurance scams, even immigration related benefits fraud. But now it's
hardcore education fraud. The White House has consistently argued that
billions of taxpayer dollars have been lost because of well,
(21:25):
the previous administration's failure to aggressively investigate and not only investigate,
but prosecute the egregious financial abuse. The Administration's message is simple.
Every dollar stolen from a taxpayer is a dollar stolen
from hardworking Americans, and every dollar stolen from a classroom
(21:45):
is a dollar stolen from a child and their future. Now,
according to the investigators, many of these education fraud cases
involved the misuse of federal education grants, then fake ven
inflated invoices, duplicate billing, false reimbursement requests, conflicts of interests,
(22:08):
and then various schemes they say designed to siphon public
money away from the students and into the private pockets
of corrupt individuals. Now, this is exactly the type of
fraud schemes that inspector generals have warned Congress about for years. Now.
One of the main problems is that whenever the federal
government rapidly increases spending, and we've seen that happen countless
(22:30):
times with public education, while oversight and this could be
on purpose by the left, have often struggled to keep pace.
We saw that, by the way, clearly during the COVID relief,
We saw it with unemployment benefits, we saw it with
small business relief, and investigators now say education funding has
(22:52):
become another area requiring far greater accountability. The Trump administration
argues this isn't simply about recovering mone it's also about
restoring confidence the government can actually protect taxpayer dollars because,
let's be honest, Americans don't mind investing in education. Polling
has shown that over and over again. And also we
(23:13):
know that most parents and grandparents want incredible quality schools.
Most taxpayers are happy to support children's futures. What frustrates
people is discovering that when the money that they've given
that was intended for students may instead be well financing
straight up fraud and corruption. There's also another aspect of this.
(23:34):
Imagine being a teacher buying classroom supplies out of your
own pocket while someone else is stealing hundreds of thousands
or even millions of dollars through fraudulent contracts or fake
billing or duplicate billing. And that's what makes stories like
this so infuriating. Teachers often spend their own money on pencils, paper,
classroom decorations, science projects, and even books. Investigators are alleging
(23:59):
enormous sums peered through fraudulent activity as well. President Trump
has repeatedly said the US government shouldn't automatically ask taxpayers
for more money until it proves it can responsibly manage
the money that it already takes in that it already has,
and stories like this, while they strengthen the president's argument,
(24:19):
Supporters of President Trump also point to the broadern pattern here.
For years, federal watchdogs have warned about weak internal controls.
They've warned about insufficient auditing, they have warned about outdated
accounting systems, and they've warned about agencies failing to verify
where grant money actually even goes. And that's where the
(24:40):
fraudsers come in and they exploit exactly these weaknesses. Well,
the administration says it's cracked down as design to change
that by increasing investigations as well as expanding forensic audits,
coordinating more closely with inspector generals, and pursuing both civil
and criminal enforcem when it's appropriate. And that extends beyond education.
(25:04):
The administration has highlighted investigations also into healthcare fraud, benefits, fraud,
procurement fraud, disaster relieve fraud, and organized criminal schemes targeting
federal programs and the criminals they've gotten insanely rich off
of all of this, Officials argue that recovering stone taxpayer
dollars not only helped reduce waste, but also it does
(25:27):
something important without cutting legitimate services. That's an important distinction.
The goal, according to the Trump administration, isn't taking resources
away from students. It's making sure the money actually reaches
those students at all, because every fraudulent dollar means fewer
legitimate resources are available for the classroom and for the individual.
(25:48):
The broader political debate here is also significant because for years,
many in Washington have responded to challenges in education by
proposing one thing, more money, larger budgets, and President Trump
is arguing now yet again that before we appropriate any
additional funds, much less billions of dollars, it should first
(26:08):
eliminate the fraud, the waste, the abuse that's already deep
entrenched inside of the education system. That's also a message
that is likely to resonate with many taxpayers come the midterms.
After all, if a private company discovered hundreds of millions
of dollars being stolen internally, shareholders wouldn't approve another spending
increase without demanding accountability first. And that's exactly what the
(26:33):
President's advocating for. Government should not operate under a lower
standard and The other major question is this oversight. How
long do these alleged schemes continue. We're warning signs completely
ignored to whistleblowers raise concerns. We're audits delayed where agencies
properly monitoring grant receipts. These are questions and investigators in
(26:57):
Congress will continue to examine. It's also worth remembering that
education funding involves multiple layers of government. Federal dollars often
flow through state agencies and then the local school districts
or nonprofit organizations. That complexity can create opportunities for fraud
if oversight breaks down at any stage, and clearly it did.
(27:19):
That's one of the reasons that Trump and his investigators
say it's important that transparency be shown. The administration argues
that technology, data analytics, and stronger financial controls can actually
help deter suspicious transactions much earlier. So, instead of discovering
fraud at this level years later, the Trump administration won
(27:40):
systems capable of identifying unusual spending patterns in real time.
Now for taxpayers, this story touches on something much larger
than education. It really goes down to the issue of trust.
Americans work hard for their paychecks and they should demand
that a government and expect that government is going to
be a responsible steward of the taxes they send to Washington.
(28:02):
But when headlines reveal hundreds of millions of dollars in fraud,
while confidence disappears, doesn't just a road. And that's why
the administration says accountability isn't optional, it's a mandatory essential.
Every fraudulent scheme uncovered sends two messages. First, investigators are
finding the problem that need fixing, and second, potential fraudsters
(28:25):
are being warned that enforcement is increasing. Now, whether these
investigations ultimately result in indictments, conviction settlements, are recovered funds
remains to be seen. But one thing is clear. The
Trump administration intends to make fraud enforcement a defining part
of its governing philosophy. President Trump is repeatedly argued that
(28:46):
before asking Americans to sacrifice more, Washington must clean up
its own books. And that is exactly what they found
from this investigation. We'll keep following this story. I can
promise you that we've got a lot more that's going
to happen the days ahead, So make sure you don't
forget grab our podcast The Ben Ferguson podcasts wherever you
(29:06):
get your podcasts as well, hit that subscriber on or
download button so you don't miss any of the breaking news.
There is anger erupting right now as US brand fires
one thousand, six hundred employees after securing thousands of foreign
worker visas. One lawmaker now calling to end the H
one B foreign worker program entirely to prioritize American workers first. Now,
(00:22):
this also comes as the President was saying, you need
to pay a premium to secure these types of visas,
and of course a liberal judge is slapping that down.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
You did, John good evening to you. This came out
of Boston. A federal judge in Boston ruled today the
one hundred thousand dollars payment the Trump administration demanded employers
pay to bring applicants from overseas to work here in
the US is considered a tax, and that the White
House doesn't have the power to unilaterally impose such a fees.
The latest court case that found President Trump unlawfully acted
(00:53):
without express congressional approval. The policy put into effect last
year up the fee from between two to five thousand
dollars to one hundred thousand dollars per application to have
employers bring up to between sixty five and eighty five
thousand high skilled foreign tech and university workers to the
United states each year with what's called a H one
B visa. According to court records last year, there were
(01:16):
about three to six years that these lasted. The H
one B program was created in nineteen ninety. The judge
today rights here the substance and application of the one
hundred thousand dollars payment reveal that it is a tax,
regardless of what the payment is called. The higher fees
were designed to prioritize US citizens over foreign workers. In
a statement, a White House spokeswoman says, the administration will
(01:38):
appeal and feel confident.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
So there you can see how the present feels about
this issue and why. Well. A popularly US based gaming
brand owned by Microsoft is now facing a fury after
mass employee layoffs occurred in the wake of the company
being approved for thousands of foreign worker visas. Microsoft announced
that it will layoff four thousand, eight hundred people total,
(02:03):
and one thousand, six hundred from the corporation's Xbox division,
which makes and sells the dominant video game console you
not as Xbox. Meanwhile, Microsoft has also at the same time, well,
they've been approved to hire from foreign countries two thousand,
two hundred and seventy three employer sponsored non immigrant workers
(02:28):
under what is known as the H one B visa
program that all coming from the data from the US
Citizen and Immigration Services known as the USCIS. Now, there
are a lot of people that are angry about this,
claim that American jobs are being unfairly handed to foreigners
in an effort to cut labor costs, but at a
(02:49):
cost of leaving US workers well without a job. Quote.
A great way to fix this is to throw anyone
doing this in prison. That's what one you use are
on XD. Another one said, fire Americans and replace with
thousands of visa workers straight to jail and asset sezed. Now,
(03:09):
this story has happened over and over again, but it
seems to be getting worse. Another social media user said
it is the fault of our government for approving the
H one bs, referring to the visa saying our government
has sold us out of jobs at home and those
being moved to other countries. Another described the H one
(03:30):
B program as industrial scale job theft from Americans. Now, Microsoft,
to put in perspective, is the sixth largest beneficiary of
the H one B visa program. It's overwhelmingly dominated by
workers from India. The company has even more H one
B applications pending as well. Not to be clear, Microsoft
(03:52):
has employees worldwide, but most are in the United States
of America. Disproportionately. These decisions are based on one business
need not visa status. H one B employees were also
impacted by job eliminations in the US. Is what a
microspot Golly is what a Microsoft spokesman told Fox News
(04:14):
Digital when they were asked about the shocking layoffs. Quote,
every single employer is exploiting the H one B visa
program is what the Project for Immigration Reform said, and
lawmakers are even calling for a complete end to the
non immigrant visa program. This is insane. Legal immigration is
(04:35):
a major problem. These companies, especially big tech, are abusing
these immigration programs to replace American workers with foreign workers.
Is what Representative Riley Moore, a Republican from West Virginia, said,
saying no more, it's a long past time to end
the H one B scam. Now, Xbox CEO side of
(04:57):
the company's financial health for their layoffs, saying vote our
business today is not healthy. We are operating at margins
that are three to ten x lower than comparable platforms
and publishing businesses. They also added that the strategy is
to reset Xbox now. Many critics, however, claim that the CEO, well,
(05:18):
she's full of it, and also claiming that her Indian
heritage played a major role in firing the Americans given
the percentage of HEB workers from India. She was actually
born just to put in perspective in Wisconsin. But that
is the fight online now. The Vice President JD. Vance
also announced on Tuesday a large scale investigation into H
(05:42):
one B visas.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
One of the reasons why I personally care so much
about fraud. I want to save every single one of
you money, but I also want to ensure that when
a young mom goes in to get some prenatal vitamins
and she can't afford them, she's able to get access
to them because a fraudster hasn't taken advantage of that program.
Part of what we're trying to do is to ensure
that these programs exist for the next generation. Look, just
(06:08):
take one of the biggest, the biggest federal programs out there,
Social Security. People to pay into Social Security for their
entire working lives every single day or every two weeks.
I should say, we get a paycheck and we see
on that paycheck, the amount of money that is going
to Social Security. I am worried that if we don't
stop sending Social Security checks to illlegal immigrants, that people
(06:31):
who paid into it for their entire lives are never
going to have access to that money. That's a scam
and it's totally unacceptable. So the most important thing we
can do to ensure those benefits exist for the people
who earn them is to make sure that the fraudsters
don't get them, that the American people.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Do jd Vance making it clear that all types of
fraud are exactly what they're going after each and every day.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
Now.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
The Vice President also went on to say at that event,
this today, I'm proud to announce that the Federal Department
of Labor has started dozens of subpoenas and investigations into
foreign fraudsters who are trying to take advantage of the
H one B visa program. American jobs ought to go
to American workers and not foreign fraudsters, and the Department
(07:19):
of Labor is fighting back against it now. Recently, President
Donald Trump tried to limit employer's use of the H
one B program by as you heard earlier, imposing one
hundred thousand dollars fee for companies seeking an H one
B application, a federal judge striking down that order, and
that is going to mean that there's going to be
(07:40):
a bigger fight moving forward. What you can expect from
the President of the White House says they're going to
fight this all the way until the end. They believe
that they have the right to do exactly what they
did with the H one B application program. The federal
judge saying, well, this amounts to attacks, and only Congress
has the ability to to impose a tax, not the president. Well,
(08:04):
maybe it's time for Republicans to move on this in Congress.
Americans are certainly watching right now and seeing what happens next.
But if there's anything you can count on, it's clearly this.
The Trump administration has made it abundantly clear it doesn't
matter what type of fraud that you are involved in,
we will find you, we will hunt you down, we
(08:26):
will charge you at crimes, we will send you out
of this country if we need to. And we're not
backing down. And there's not a single government program that's
off limits from them investigating. And that is part of
the reason why you're seeing fraud in education and even
with work visas. It's clear Democrats knew this was happening
and deliberately look the other way for years. Well, now
(08:49):
President Trump is saying, We're going to expose it all.
We've been focusing so much about the World Cup and
the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the greatest country
in the world, America. But there is a lot of
other news happening. Some of it deals with national security,
and we're now learning that the Chinese Defense Ministry has
announced that China and Russia are going to be teaming
(09:13):
up to hold major joint naval exercises in July. Why
are they doing this is the big question. Their answer
the world is this to quote counter maritime security threats
quote unquote. Now, the exercises, we're being told, will begin
in Chinese waters, but will then move to what they
(09:35):
describe as relevant areas of the Pacific Ocean. Yes, that
is concerning, especially when you have China and Russia teaming
up in a military exercise. The exercise is being dubbed
Joint C twenty twenty six, and it will begin they say,
near China's port city in the eastern Shengdang Province. Now,
(09:58):
the last Russian involved in the exercise arrived in those
waters over the weekend, we're also being told, and the
exercises will reportedly be held from Monday, July sixth, all
the way until July thirteenth. According to Chinese state run
at Global Times, the Russian force includes the guided missile
(10:21):
cruisers and many of their new frigates, as well as
their submarines and a rescue ship as well. China contributed also.
They say two guided missile cruisers plus the frigate known
as the Wuhu and a supply ship. A submarine rescue
ship also was there and another quote unnamed submarine. Now.
(10:46):
The Chinese Defense Ministry said this exercise would include three phases,
one being force assembly, then port planning and coordination, and
then most importantly, they say, joint operations at sea between
Russia and China. They say the port phase will primarily
include planning sessions and seminars on land, plus mutual ship
(11:10):
tours and then a friendly basketball match as well to
show how tight China and Russia are with one another.
The livelier at sea phase, as they described it, will
feature a range of training scenarios including joint reconnaissance, air
and missile defense, and maritime strike operations as well. Now
(11:32):
this is concerning because you don't see every day Russian
and China doing these types of exercises and maritime strike
operations and missile defense and air defense and reconnaissance. This
shows a very new cooperation between Russia and China, two
countries that typically do not trust anyone, and allowing each
(11:53):
other to come on board their ships, train together, and
coordinate together tells you just how important this alliance is
between the two nations. Now, the presence of advanced frontline
surface combatants, they say, are also important. Many of their
cruisers are intended to show how seriously, they say, Russia
and China take their maritime security threats, although the press
(12:17):
release were notably led on details of where those threats
actually might be coming from at all. One of the
state of aims or the exercises to reduce, they say,
perceive threats to key maritime strategic corridors posed by certain
regional countries, and that's why they say they need to
do these exercises now, they say, through the joint exercises,
(12:41):
the two sides seek to demonstrate their ability to keep
these sea lanes open and operate further into the Pacific,
the Chinese military experts are now saying to the Global Times,
obviously that is Chinese propaganda. Song also added that the
joint exercise is intended to quote deter unilateral actions by
(13:03):
certain countries. Obviously they're referring to America, and they say
resists historical revisionism and discouraged behavior scene as undermining the
security and the well being of our neighboring countries. Which
offered a few more clues about who the Chinese and
Russian sailors are actually training to fight. You guessed it,
(13:25):
it would be in large part the United States. They said,
the unilateral actions by certain countries, well, that has also
been used before by the Chinese Communist Party. It is
language that they use almost exclusively about the United States
of America and the Asian Pacific region. Recent historical revisions
(13:47):
is a thinly veiled slam at countries like the US
and then Japan as well as the Philippines for challenging
China's expansive claims to control the entire South China see region.
They're making it known what they think about all of this. Now,
the Kremlin was a bit less well blunt about their
(14:08):
actions on Monday, insisting that the joint C twenty twenty
six drills were not meant to threaten or intimidate any
particular country. Obviously, China's in a much stronger position, they feel,
and Russia is in a much weaker position, especially with
the Ukraine War and how they've been isolated from the
rest of the world's economy. As for our joint exercises,
(14:30):
Russia says they are not directed against anyone nor against
any single state in the region. Everyone should bear this
in mind, is what the Kremlin spokesperson said publicly. Now,
Russia also went on to say this on the contrary,
cooperation between Russia and China in such an important critical
area is a very significant factor that contributes to predictability
(14:54):
and security in the region. Now, military analysts around the
world they're all watching these exercises very carefully because they
reveal several important trends. And that first is Russia and
China now believe they have a truly common strategic interest,
and that interest is reducing America's influence around the world.
(15:14):
That is obvious. They don't have to agree on everything,
but both governments oppose what they see as a US
led international order, and these joint military exercises are sending
a message that they can coordinate their forces if needed. Secondly,
they're also learning from one another. Russia, we now know,
(15:34):
has accumulated years of real world combat experience in Ukraine,
everything from drone warfare to electronic warfare to missile defense.
And China is one of the largest and most technologically
advanced militaries, but it hasn't fought a major war literally
in decades. Reports this year indicate Chinese forces have secretly
(15:56):
trained Russian troops in areas such as drone operations and chemical,
biological and radiological defenses, while Russia shares lessons learned from
the battlefield in Ukraine. China, of course, they lie. They
deny it has ever provided military support in the war,
but our intelligence agencies say military cooperation has deepened significantly.
(16:19):
And then there's a third reason for these exercises. Every
time two militaries operate together, they improve communications, they improve logistics,
command structures, and they learn how to work together. That
means if a future crisis develops, whether it's in Taiwan
or the South China Sea, Europe or elsewhere. They're much
(16:41):
better prepared for coordinating than they ever have before. Now,
this doesn't mean that WORL War III is around the corner,
but it is important to understand that Russia and China
are not a formal military alliance like NATO. Neither country
is committed to automatically going to war on behalf of
one another. They each still pursue their own national interests first,
(17:03):
but this is an area where they clearly want to cooperate,
and the trend well, it's unmistakable if you ask military experts,
because these two countries, as I mentioned earlier, they don't
trust anyone, and for them to dramatically expand over the
last several years the way they have and now have
joint exercises that are literally reaching record levels, it means
(17:26):
something now that United States may have to prepare for
the possibility of managing multiple security challenges at once to
during Russia and Europe while also maintaining stability in the
Indo Pacific and then American allies including Japan, South Korea, Australia,
NATO members and others are likely to continue increasing defend
(17:47):
spending and military cooperation and response as well. This is
exactly why you have to have a strong military presence,
and it also raises the stakes anytime there's a crisis
involving Taiwan now or even Eastern Europe, because if Russian
and China are coordinating more closely, then lawmakers, policymakers, they've
(18:08):
got to think through how one regional conflict could actually
affect another. So today's military exercises and they'll be going
on for a whole week, they don't necessarily mean a
conflict is imminent. What it does mean is that Russia
and China are turning over a new leaf and looking
to work together to try to stop American influence around
(18:29):
the world. Now, the partnership ultimately becomes a true military
alliance if they decide to actually get involved in attack somewhere.
So far, China has not been willing to do that
in decades. But what we do know is there's a
lot of people asking a lot of questions right now
about Taiwan and what could this mean if Russia decide
(18:49):
to get involved with China in that way. Only time
will tell, but it certainly means that the United States
America must be paying attention and watching like never before.
President Donald Trump giving us another example of why the
Trump administration says rooting out government waste, government fraud and
abuse isn't just a campaign slogan, It's a governing priority
(19:14):
of this administration. There is new explosive reports out that
allege that investigators have uncovered more than two hundred and
twenty five million and suspected K through twelve education fraud,
adding to what the administration says, a growing list of
cases where taxpayer dollars intended for America's children instead end
(19:36):
up enriching bad actors. Now, it's also important to make
one major distinction right at the beginning of this conversation. Now,
these are allegations and investigative findings, not criminal convictions yet.
But if even a fraction of these allegations are ultimately
proven true, taxpayers have every reason to be enraged by
(19:59):
the steel of your dollars. And it also explains why
public education is failing our young people. Think about this
money and what it was supposed to do. It was
supposed to buy textbooks. It was supposed to help children
learn to read, to deal with learning disabilities, and support.
It was supposed to fund special education services for a
(20:21):
multitude of children. It was supposed to pay for classroom technology, tutoring,
even transportation, school meals and resources for the teachers. Instead,
according to investigators nationwide, millions and millions and millions of
dollars have been diverted through fraudulent schemes that were easy
(20:43):
to catch. Clearly, the school district's choosing to look the
other way, and that is exactly why President Trump has
repeatedly argued that Washington needs far more oversight of taxpayer spending.
And let's be clear, throughout Trump's second administration, he's been
fighting fraud and it's become a centerpiece of his domestic agenda.
(21:04):
Now it doesn't matter what type of fraud it is.
Could be medicaid fraud, Medicare fraud, pandemic relief abuse, unemployment
insurance scams, even immigration related benefits fraud. But now it's
hardcore education fraud. The White House has consistently argued that
billions of taxpayer dollars have been lost because of well,
(21:25):
the previous administration's failure to aggressively investigate and not only investigate,
but prosecute the egregious financial abuse. The Administration's message is simple.
Every dollar stolen from a taxpayer is a dollar stolen
from hardworking Americans, and every dollar stolen from a classroom
(21:45):
is a dollar stolen from a child and their future. Now,
according to the investigators, many of these education fraud cases
involved the misuse of federal education grants, then fake ven
inflated invoices, duplicate billing, false reimbursement requests, conflicts of interests,
(22:08):
and then various schemes they say designed to siphon public
money away from the students and into the private pockets
of corrupt individuals. Now, this is exactly the type of
fraud schemes that inspector generals have warned Congress about for years. Now.
One of the main problems is that whenever the federal
government rapidly increases spending, and we've seen that happen countless
(22:30):
times with public education, while oversight and this could be
on purpose by the left, have often struggled to keep pace.
We saw that, by the way, clearly during the COVID relief,
We saw it with unemployment benefits, we saw it with
small business relief, and investigators now say education funding has
(22:52):
become another area requiring far greater accountability. The Trump administration
argues this isn't simply about recovering mone it's also about
restoring confidence the government can actually protect taxpayer dollars because,
let's be honest, Americans don't mind investing in education. Polling
has shown that over and over again. And also we
(23:13):
know that most parents and grandparents want incredible quality schools.
Most taxpayers are happy to support children's futures. What frustrates
people is discovering that when the money that they've given
that was intended for students may instead be well financing
straight up fraud and corruption. There's also another aspect of this.
(23:34):
Imagine being a teacher buying classroom supplies out of your
own pocket while someone else is stealing hundreds of thousands
or even millions of dollars through fraudulent contracts or fake
billing or duplicate billing. And that's what makes stories like
this so infuriating. Teachers often spend their own money on pencils, paper,
classroom decorations, science projects, and even books. Investigators are alleging
(23:59):
enormous sums peered through fraudulent activity as well. President Trump
has repeatedly said the US government shouldn't automatically ask taxpayers
for more money until it proves it can responsibly manage
the money that it already takes in that it already has,
and stories like this, while they strengthen the president's argument,
(24:19):
Supporters of President Trump also point to the broadern pattern here.
For years, federal watchdogs have warned about weak internal controls.
They've warned about insufficient auditing, they have warned about outdated
accounting systems, and they've warned about agencies failing to verify
where grant money actually even goes. And that's where the
(24:40):
fraudsers come in and they exploit exactly these weaknesses. Well,
the administration says it's cracked down as design to change
that by increasing investigations as well as expanding forensic audits,
coordinating more closely with inspector generals, and pursuing both civil
and criminal enforcem when it's appropriate. And that extends beyond education.
(25:04):
The administration has highlighted investigations also into healthcare fraud, benefits, fraud,
procurement fraud, disaster relieve fraud, and organized criminal schemes targeting
federal programs and the criminals they've gotten insanely rich off
of all of this, Officials argue that recovering stone taxpayer
dollars not only helped reduce waste, but also it does
(25:27):
something important without cutting legitimate services. That's an important distinction.
The goal, according to the Trump administration, isn't taking resources
away from students. It's making sure the money actually reaches
those students at all, because every fraudulent dollar means fewer
legitimate resources are available for the classroom and for the individual.
(25:48):
The broader political debate here is also significant because for years,
many in Washington have responded to challenges in education by
proposing one thing, more money, larger budgets, and President Trump
is arguing now yet again that before we appropriate any
additional funds, much less billions of dollars, it should first
(26:08):
eliminate the fraud, the waste, the abuse that's already deep
entrenched inside of the education system. That's also a message
that is likely to resonate with many taxpayers come the midterms.
After all, if a private company discovered hundreds of millions
of dollars being stolen internally, shareholders wouldn't approve another spending
increase without demanding accountability first. And that's exactly what the
(26:33):
President's advocating for. Government should not operate under a lower
standard and The other major question is this oversight. How
long do these alleged schemes continue. We're warning signs completely
ignored to whistleblowers raise concerns. We're audits delayed where agencies
properly monitoring grant receipts. These are questions and investigators in
(26:57):
Congress will continue to examine. It's also worth remembering that
education funding involves multiple layers of government. Federal dollars often
flow through state agencies and then the local school districts
or nonprofit organizations. That complexity can create opportunities for fraud
if oversight breaks down at any stage, and clearly it did.
(27:19):
That's one of the reasons that Trump and his investigators
say it's important that transparency be shown. The administration argues
that technology, data analytics, and stronger financial controls can actually
help deter suspicious transactions much earlier. So, instead of discovering
fraud at this level years later, the Trump administration won
(27:40):
systems capable of identifying unusual spending patterns in real time.
Now for taxpayers, this story touches on something much larger
than education. It really goes down to the issue of trust.
Americans work hard for their paychecks and they should demand
that a government and expect that government is going to
be a responsible steward of the taxes they send to Washington.
(28:02):
But when headlines reveal hundreds of millions of dollars in fraud,
while confidence disappears, doesn't just a road. And that's why
the administration says accountability isn't optional, it's a mandatory essential.
Every fraudulent scheme uncovered sends two messages. First, investigators are
finding the problem that need fixing, and second, potential fraudsters
(28:25):
are being warned that enforcement is increasing. Now, whether these
investigations ultimately result in indictments, conviction settlements, are recovered funds
remains to be seen. But one thing is clear. The
Trump administration intends to make fraud enforcement a defining part
of its governing philosophy. President Trump is repeatedly argued that
(28:46):
before asking Americans to sacrifice more, Washington must clean up
its own books. And that is exactly what they found
from this investigation. We'll keep following this story. I can
promise you that we've got a lot more that's going
to happen the days ahead, So make sure you don't
forget grab our podcast The Ben Ferguson podcasts wherever you
(29:06):
get your podcasts as well, hit that subscriber on or
download button so you don't miss any of the breaking news.
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Ben Ferguson
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