President Donald Trump awarded the nation’s highest science and technology honours to six prominent tech executives Thursday at the Golden Age of American Innovation Summit. The White House ceremony also highlighted the recipients’ financial ties to his administration.
Elon Musk, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Google co-founder Sergey Brin and AMD CEO Lisa Su received the National Medal of Science. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, as Al Jazeera reported.
According to The New Republic, several honorees or their companies have contributed to Trump-related political initiatives. Michael and Susan Dell separately pledged $6.25 billion to support children’s Trump Accounts, a philanthropic commitment rather than a campaign donation.
Trump praised the executives for advancing American technological leadership. Nadella received the recognition the same day the administration suspended Microsoft from a federal employment-based green card certification program over alleged immigration violations, which the company disputed.
