It is a rare instance to see US President Donald Trump directly involved in the management of technology firms, but today is a one-off. In his post on Truth Social, Donald Trump made a public remark that Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan must resign immediately. In a post, he stated: "The CEO of INTEL is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately. There is no other solution to this problem. Thank you for your attention to this problem!" Yesterday, we reported that US Senator Tom Cotton sent a letter to Intel's independent Chair, Frank Yeary, for clarification on whether Intel's current CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, has divested from his China positions through his venture firm, Walden International. This includes over 600 investments in companies that directly work with the Chinese military, and Senator Tom Cotton demanded written proof that Intel's new CEO is not involved in these businesses.

The scrutiny over China investments comes in light of Intel's strategic importance to the US semiconductor supply chain, as well as Intel being the recipient of US government funds. In September, Intel was awarded $3 billion in direct funding from the Biden administration under the CHIPS and Science Act for the Secure Enclave program. Hence, the current US administration decided to investigate Lip-Bu Tan's investments and probe whether his position as CEO of Intel aligns with national interests. Intel stock, ticker INTC, is down 3% today on the news.