There is a growing public rift in the ranks of MAGA world before President-elect Trump’s new term has even begun and the incoming commander in chief has been uncharacteristically quiet regarding the online strife between his most fervent supporters.

The divide, which has been referred to as a “MAGA Civil War,” was sparked after recent comments by Trump’s appointed heads of the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, in which they both said online that they are in support of the H-1B Visa program. 

While Trump campaigned on promises of sweeping immigration reform, including mass deportations, the duo has taken a stance that is not as stringent.

“The number of people who are super talented engineers AND super motivated in the USA is far too low,” Mr. Musk said in a post on X on Wednesday. In a separate post, he pointed out that a “shortage of excellent engineering talent” is a “fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.”

The next day, Mr. Ramaswamy, faced a backlash after posting on his X account a lengthy missive on the need for foreign laborers.

“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 & wrong explanation). A key part of it comes down to the c-word: culture,” he wrote. “Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long (at least since the 90s and likely longer). That doesn’t start in college, it starts YOUNG.”

The statements led some of the most devoted MAGA supporters to lash out.

“We welcomed the tech bros when they came running our way to avoid the 3rd grade teacher picking their kid’s gender – and the obvious Biden/Harris economic decline,” former Congressman and Trump’s since-departed pick to head the DOJ, Matt Gaetz, said on X. “We did not ask them to engineer an immigration policy.”

The H-1B visa program, the largest in the U.S. in terms of guest workers, allows American employers to hire foreign workers in “specialty” occupations. The program, which is backed by many in Silicon Valley and high tech, is aimed at those with specialized knowledge and a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent of work experience. There are annual caps on the numbers, which is 65,000, plus an additional 20,000 allocated to those graduating with master’s degrees or higher from a U.S. school.

The program has been criticized, among other things, as a form of corporate welfare since it can save companies money compared with costs they would have faced had they hired American workers. Opponents also argue that it depresses wages and causes Americans to stop pursuing degrees in certain specialized fields.

Far-right activist and Trump loyalist Laura Loomer said on X that she opposed the close relationship between Trump and Mr. Musk.

“[Elon Musk], who is not MAGA and never has been, is a total f****g drag on the Trump transition,” Ms. Loomer said on X. “He’s a stage 5 clinger who over stayed his welcome at Mar a Lago in an effort to become Trump’s side piece and be the point man for all of his accomplices in big Tech to slither in to Mar a Lago.”

In addition, Ms. Loomer was fuming after it was announced that Trump had appointed Indian-American entrepreneur and venture capitalist Sriram Krishnan as his new AI policy advisor, saying  that the appointment was “deeply disturbing.”

“It’s not racist against Indians to want the original MAGA policies I voted for. I voted for a reduction in H-1B visas. Not an extension,” Ms. Loomer wrote on X.

Mr. Musk fired back on his X account.

“Loomer is trolling for attention. Ignore,” he wrote in response on Thursday to another post with a screenshot from Ms. Loomer’s account where she asked, “Is DOGE a way to ‘cut spending’ or REDIRECT the spending toward the pet projects of tech bro billionaires? It’s looking like the latter TBH.”

Later that day, Mr. Musk posted “a reminder” that X’s algorithm automatically reduces a user’s reach if they are blocked or muted by a significant number of credible users on the platform.

“Just a reminder that the algorithm is trying to maximize unregretted user-seconds,” he said. “If far more credible, verified subscriber accounts (not bots) mute/block your account compared to those who like your posts, your reach will decline significantly.”

Ms. Loomer accused Mr. Musk of removing her verified status on X for her comments.

“If they ban me for sticking up for all of you, it’s been nice fighting for all of you and President Trump,” she wrote. “X removed my verification, my subs, and my ability to get premium again.”

Curiously absent from the online infighting has been Trump himself.

His last post on X was on Christmas day when he posted a gif of himself steering Santa’s sleigh while doing his dance from the campaign trail that went viral.