President Donald Trump has taken to Truth Social to call for Intel"s CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, to resign, accusing him of having conflicts of interest.
This comes just days after a senior Republican senator started putting the screws to Intel"s board over the same issue. That senator is Tom Cotton of Arkansas.
If the name rings a bell, he is the same person who famously interrogated TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, grilling him on whether he had ties to the Chinese Communist Party (just like Tan is now being accused of), despite Chew repeatedly stating he was from Singapore, not China.
Now, Cotton has Intel in his sights. The Arkansas senator sent a letter to Intel"s Chairman, Frank Yeary, demanding answers about Tan"s past. Some of the questions Cotton had for Intel"s Chairman, Frank Yeary, included the following:
- Did the board know about Tan"s past investments in Chinese semiconductor companies with links to the country"s military?
- What did the board do about the fact that Cadence Design Systems Inc., the company Tan previously ran, pleaded guilty to illegally exporting tech to a Chinese military university?
- Has Tan disclosed all his remaining financial ties to Chinese companies to the U.S. government?
This political firestorm is the last thing Intel needs. Lip-Bu Tan was appointed just this March, following the retirement of Pat Gelsinger last December. He came in with a plan to overhaul the company, promoting an "engineering-first culture" and pivoting the company"s manufacturing roadmap to prioritize its "14A" chipmaking process over the "18A" process to better serve foundry clients.
Bloomberg notes that Intel released a statement regarding the issue, saying, "Intel and Mr. Tan are deeply committed to the national security of the United States and the integrity of our role in the U.S. defense ecosystem."
That commitment did not stop a financial hit, as Intel"s shares fell 3.8% in premarket trading after the news broke.