Trump calls on Intel CEO to resign over China ties
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s past business dealings in China have come under scrutiny in the latest challenge to hit the troubled chip maker.
Intel shares fell over 2 per cent after President Trump called on the company’s chief executive to resign because of his past ties to China, the latest challenge to hit the troubled chip maker.
“The CEO of INTEL is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately. There is no other solution to this problem,” Mr Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social Thursday.
The president is committed to making sure leaders in cutting-edge sectors can be trusted by Americans, a White House official said.
Mr Trump appeared to be referencing Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s past business dealings in China, which Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) called out in a letter to the company’s board earlier this week. Several other senators amplified the comments and called for Mr Tan’s resignation.
The pressure from Washington comes about five months after Mr Tan took over to turn around the company and could add to its challenges.
The new CEO of @intel reportedly has deep ties to the Chinese Communists. U.S. companies who receive government grants should be responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars and adhere to strict security regulations. The board of @Intel owes Congress an explanation. pic.twitter.com/3rYhHge6Wa
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) August 6, 2025
“This is definitely a crisis point for the company to address its relationship with the White House and U.S. government as a whole,” said Ray Wang, lead semiconductor analyst at research and advisory firm Futurum Group. “All this disruption could only make things worse,” he said.
Intel didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The sudden request from the president that the leader of a major public company resign was unusual and highlighted the pressure Mr Trump is applying to corporate executives to get the outcomes he wants, analysts said.
“This is at the very least unusual, if not unprecedented,” said Meena Bose, who directs a centre that studies the presidency at Hofstra University.
On Tuesday, Mr Cotton wrote an open letter to Intel’s board questioning Mr Tan’s ties to the Chinese government, including apparent connections to the country’s military and investments in other semiconductor companies.
The company is receiving billions of dollars from the federal government to increase domestic chip production in Ohio, making it a target for scrutiny from politicians.
“Intel is required to be a responsible steward of American taxpayer dollars and to comply with applicable security regulations,” Mr Cotton wrote.
In response to Mr Cotton’s letter, Intel defended Mr Tan and dismissed suggestions that the company posed a threat to U.S. national security. Mr Tan was born in Malaysia and later became an American citizen.
He took over as CEO in March with the hope of turning Intel around by cutting costs and improving the company’s performance in its existing business lines.
His previous ties to China as a venture capitalist who invested in Chinese tech companies before starting to work in the semiconductor industry have also invited scrutiny from politicians.
In his letter, Mr Cotton, who is chair of the Intelligence Committee and a senior figure in Republican leadership, referenced Mr Tan’s longtime position as CEO of Silicon Valley software company Cadence Design Systems, which recently agreed to pay $140 million for violating U.S. export restrictions by selling to China’s National University of Defense Technology.
Mr Cotton and other national-security hawks worry about any advanced U.S. technology being sold in China and ultimately benefiting the superpower’s military. At times this year, those concerns have taken a back seat to Mr Trump’s desire to export U.S. technology from companies like Nvidia to much of the world.
Mr Trump has been criticised by some Republicans for being too friendly to the tech sector and letting it do too much business with China.
Intel has delayed its Ohio project after struggling to keep pace with competitors in the artificial-intelligence race and shore up its finances.
Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno said on social media that Intel didn’t keep its promises to his state and that Ohio should conduct a fraud investigation, in addition to Mr Tan resigning. Other Republicans including Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Jim Banks of Indiana expressed similar sentiments.
Some Trump administration officials have grown frustrated with Intel’s challenges and worried about continuing to work with the company, people familiar with the matter said.
Once one of the most venerated companies in the world, the company has struggled after years of strategic missteps and technological advances by competitors. Its shares have fallen more than 50 per cent in the last five years.
Mr Trump has often been critical of CEOs who he thinks oppose his policies or aren’t supporting his administration’s goals. On Wednesday, he exempted many tech companies who invest in the U.S. from new tariffs on semiconductors and praised CEOs he favours like Apple’s Tim Cook.
Intel’s challenging financial position makes it hard for the company to boost its investments like its peers, analysts said.
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