Former US President Donald Trump has called for the resignation of Intel’s new CEO Lip-Bu Tan on Thursday, claiming he is “highly conflicted” and therefore unsuitable to lead the US advanced chipmaking industry.

“We cannot allow our country to be put at such great risk when the top man at INTEL is highly conflicted,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform on Thursday. “The CEO of INTEL is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately. There is no other solution to this problem.”

Trump’s comments, short and without elaboration, came a few days after Republican Senator Tom Cotton wrote to the company’s chair Frank Yeary, outlining his concerns over Intel’s new leadership. Tan, who came to the Intel helm last month, is a long-time Silicon Valley veteran with over three decades of experience in semiconductors and venture capital.

In his letter to Yeary, Cotton cited Tan’s history as an “angel investor in Chinese tech companies”, including one of the country’s largest chipmakers. Semiconductors Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), which has been hit with sanctions from the US over national security concerns, is one of Tan’s portfolio companies from his previous venture capital days.

Tan, who hails from Malaysia, has been a prolific Chinese tech investor during his career. His firm in San Francisco, and another in Hong Kong, have over the years led investments into several Chinese technology companies.

The prospect of a veteran Chinese tech investor becoming Intel’s new chief has also drawn increased scrutiny of Tan’s previous tenure as CEO of Cadence Design Systems, a California-based chip design software firm. Cadence last week pleaded guilty to a violation of US export controls after its sales of chip design tools to a Chinese university with known military links. The incident, which has drawn the ire of politicians in both the US and Taiwan, has cast a shadow over Tan, whose network of relationships and previous business ventures are being increasingly questioned.

Intel and the White House have declined to comment on Trump’s remarks on Tan. However, Intel’s shares dropped 3 percent in pre-market trading in New York on Thursday morning, after Trump’s post.

Tan was appointed CEO of Intel by its board in March, after they decided to replace outgoing CEO Pat Gelsinger. Gelsinger, who had previously been forced out of the company in 2006, had taken the CEO post again in 2021 but was ousted by Intel’s board in December.

Intel was at the time at a crossroads of the global chip race. After years of dominating the semiconductor market, it had struggled to keep up with smaller rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world’s largest chipmaker.

Intel is the last US-headquartered company still manufacturing advanced semiconductors. It also happens to be the industry leader in those chips that have fallen out of favor with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) chips, the hotbed of current-day global competition.

Intel, in a bid to catch up, has also received billions of dollars of government subsidies and loans. In Washington, Intel is one among several chipmakers to receive subsidies and loans as part of the government’s effort to reduce US reliance on foreign chipmakers, with Taiwan and South Korea the most important ones. The US, including many of its top semiconductor executives and former government officials, is increasingly worried about US over-dependence on foreign chipmakers, especially those based in Taiwan.

Despite the funding, Intel has been missing out on the boom in AI chips, and the company is way behind TSMC on leading-edge process nodes. Tan, in his first month on the job, has already hinted that the company may slow down its efforts to develop the next generation of its manufacturing technology, the so-called RibbonFET, if it is unable to find a “significant external customer”.

Intel has been lagging on these chips, and if the company were to scrap its development efforts, it would essentially hand over the industry leadership to TSMC. Such a scenario would have national security implications for the US, besides dealing a heavy blow to Intel.

Tan has also been under pressure to rapidly turn Intel’s fortunes around by investors, to which he has responded with some cost-cutting measures so far, including a significant round of job cuts to restore profitability. These efforts have buoyed some analysts and investors, but others are worried, as Intel has been on a long-term decline, with much of the hope pinned on its future technology and chips.

Senator Cotton’s letter to Intel’s board chair further ratcheted up the political pressure on the company’s leadership. Intel, as a recipient of government subsidies, is a “responsible steward of American taxpayer dollars” and must comply with national security regulations, wrote Cotton in the letter.