- Florida’s restriction applies to new hires at 12 public universities, not existing employees.
- Executive Order 14431 was published in the Federal Register on September 23, 2026.
- The order directs Labor to review previously filed applications for potential enforcement action.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis blamed Senate Republicans for failing to pursue an aggressive immigration agenda, including a call to “shut off H-1B visas,” after Democrats won control of Congress in the November 3 midterms.
He made the remarks in an interview with Laura Ingraham that aired November 4, 2026. The comments were advocacy, not a new federal restriction on workers or their employers.
Asked about the Senate filibuster, the governor said he saw no appetite among Republican senators for sweeping conservative changes. He listed immigration alongside codifying Trump’s immigration orders and limiting federal courts’ jurisdiction over deportation cases.
“But I saw no indication that the current group of Republican senators were interested in doing that type of bold conservative change.”
He also blamed congressional frustration for some Republican voters staying home. That was his assessment of the midterm result.
No bill or vote anchors his charge
The interview did not identify a specific H-1B bill, Senate vote or other legislative action that the governor said had stalled. His broad accusation does not establish that senators considered and rejected a particular measure.
Senate leadership, under John Thune, has pointed to procedural barriers and insufficient votes as obstacles to major conservative priorities generally. That explanation has not been tied to a named H-1B proposal in the remarks.
The governor’s call is national in scope. The concrete restriction he has supported in Florida applies only to hiring at public universities.
Florida’s restriction covers new university hires only
In March 2026, Florida’s Board of Governors barred the state’s 12 public universities from hiring new employees through the H-1B program. The restriction excludes current university employees and is scheduled to remain in place through January 5, 2027.
The governor has urged other states to adopt a similar university hiring policy. “We stopped H-1Bs at our universities in Florida and other states should follow suit.”
That state measure does not shut down the visa program nationwide. It applies to new hires at Florida’s public universities, not all employers or all H-1B workers.
A separate federal order directs layoff scrutiny
A separate federal action predates the interview. President Trump signed Executive Order 14431 on September 18, 2026, and the order appeared in the Federal Register on September 23, 2026. The order is not a Senate measure, and the interview does not link it to the governor’s proposal.
The order directs the Departments of State, Labor and Homeland Security to consider recent or planned layoffs of U.S. workers when handling H-1B labor condition applications, petitions, visa applications and admissions. It also directs Labor to review previously filed applications for possible enforcement action.
The order does not bar employers with recent layoffs from hiring H-1B workers. It adds layoff history to agency scrutiny, while leaving implementation details to the agencies.
Employers and workers can monitor the Federal Register and updates from the Department of Labor, USCIS and the Department of State. Florida’s university hiring restriction is scheduled to end January 5, 2027.
