President Donald Trump and one of Ohio’s two senators have both called on the chief executive officer of Intel to resign, calling the chipmaker’s leader “conflicted” due to his alleged ties to the Chinese government.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno accused CEO Lip-Bu Tan of having ties to the “CCP,” an apparent reference to the Chinese communist party. The senator called on Tan to “immediately resign” and also said Ohio should conduct a fraud investigation into the executive.
Moreno also mentioned Intel’s Ohio One factories, the first of which was supposed to open in 2025. The factories have been delayed to at least 2031, the company announced earlier this year.
“It’s pretty obvious that Intel has failed to meet the commitments it made to the people of Ohio,” Moreno said on X.
In a post on the president’s social network, Truth Social, Trump also called on Tan to resign Thursday.
“The CEO of Intel is highly conflicted and must resign immediately,” Trump said in the post. “There is no other solution to this problem.”
Moreno wasn’t the first senator to openly question Tan’s connections to China.
In an Aug. 6 letter to Intel chairperson Frank Yeary, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, sent a letter to Intel’s board chair with questions about Tan’s ties to Chinese firms and a recent criminal case involving his former company, Cadence Design.
Cotton told Yeary that he was writing to “express concern about the security and integrity of Intel’s operations and its potential impact on U.S. national security.” Cotton asked Yeary whether the company’s board was aware of subpoenas sent to Cadence during Tan’s time as CEO before Intel hired him.
He also asked whether Intel’s board required Tan to divest from chip firms in China linked to the Chinese military or Communist Party.
Intel’s Ohio factories are part of a larger effort to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to the United States, a move that experts and government leaders have said is critical to national security.
The company was awarded $7.865 billion in funding as part of the federal CHIPS Incentives Program under President Biden. At least $1.5 billion of that funding was set to go toward the New Albany project, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. An agreement between Intel and the Ohio Department of Development offered the company $300 million in grants to help with the construction of each factory, as long as they were completed by the end of 2028.
Anshel Sag, a principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, told Reuters on Thursday that the president “shouldn’t be calling for any CEO to be stepping down.”
Tan just took the job as Intel’s CEO earlier this year in an attempt to right the company’s struggling finances, Sag noted. He told Reuters that it’s Tan’s experience in the Chinese market that makes him a good choice to be Intel’s leader.
“I think this all boils down to Lip-Bu’s past involvement and investment in Chinese semiconductors, which is also what makes him so valuable as CEO,” Sag said. “He’s more aware than most people on earth of China’s capabilities and should be an asset to the U.S. and Intel.”
David Wagner, head of equity and a portfolio manager at Aptus Capital Advisors, which is an Intel shareholder, said he understands why Trump’s call for Tan’s ouster may come off like “President Trump has his hand in too many cookie jars.”
But Wagner told Reuters it’s a sign that Trump is serious about bringing the semiconductor business back to the U.S.
“He has momentum from the Apple deal and now (he’s) hoping that a few more businesses fall into place,” Wagner said.
Dispatch investigative reporter Max Filby can be reached by email at mfilby@dispatch.com. Find him on X at the handle @MaxFilby or on Facebook at @ReporterMaxFilby.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: President Donald Trump, Sen. Bernie Moreno call on Intel CEO to resign, citing China ties
Reporting by Max Filby, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
