'Highly Conflicted': Donald Trump calls on Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan to resign

Intel's CEO Lip-Bu Tan

US President Donald Trump on Thursday called for Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan to immediately resign, saying he is "highly conflicted" after questions arose about his ties to Chinese firms. The Chief Executive Officer of Intel is under mounting pressure to step down following strong accusations of a serious conflict of interest after a Republican senator reportedly raised national security concerns over his links to firms in China.

"The CEO of INTEL is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately. There is no other solution to this problem," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, a day after Senator Tom Cotton reportedly wrote to Intel questioning ties between Lip-Bu Tan and Chinese firms.

Earlier, Intel on March named former board member and chip industry veteran Lip-Bu Tan as its CEO and signaled the struggling but storied chipmaker was unlikely to split up its chip-design and manufacturing operations.

The appointment comes three months after Intel ousted CEO and company veteran Pat Gelsinger, whose costly and ambitious plan to turn the company around was faltering and sapping investor confidence.

Tan, a former Intel board member, had been seen as a CEO contender thanks to his deep experience in the chip industry as well as a longtime technology investor in promising startups. He was approached by Intel's board in December to gauge his interest in taking up the job, Reuters had reported.

US Republican Senator Tom Cotton sent a letter to Intel's board chair on Wednesday with questions about the chipmaker's new CEO Lip-Bu Tan's ties to Chinese firms and a recent criminal case involving his former company Cadence Design.

Writing to "express concern about the security and integrity of Intel's operations and its potential impact on U.S. national security", Cotton asked in the letter to Intel chairperson Frank Yeary whether the company's board was aware of the subpoenas sent to Cadence during Tan's time there as CEO before Intel hired him. Cotton asked what measures were taken to address those concerns.

Because of Intel getting federal funding under the initiative, Cotton questioned Yeary in the letter about Tan's disclosures related to investment, professional roles or other ties to Chinese companies.

"Intel is required to be a responsible steward of American taxpayer dollars and to comply with applicable security regulations," Cotton wrote. "Mr. Tan's associations raise questions about Intel's ability to fulfill these obligations."