Intel's shares are tumbling before markets opened Thursday after President Donald Trump said in a social media post that the chipmaker's CEO needs to resign.
“The CEO of Intel is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “There is no other solution to this problem. Thank you for your attention to this problem!”
Trump made the post after Senator Tom Cotton sent a letter to Intel Chairman Frank Yeary expressing concern over CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s investments and ties to semiconductor firms that are reportedly linked to the Chinese Communist Party and the People’s Liberation Army.
Cotton specifically called out Tan's recent leadership of Cadence Design Systems in the letter. The tech company admitted in July to selling its products to China’s National University of Defense Technology in violation of U.S. export controls.
“In March 2025, Intel appointed Lip-Bu Tan as its new CEO," Cotton wrote in the letter. "Mr. Tan reportedly controls dozens of Chinese companies and has a stake in hundreds of Chinese advanced-manufacturing and chip firms. At least eight of these companies reportedly have ties to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.”
Intel's stock dropped more than 4% in premarket trading.