GOP politicians including President Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno mounted pressure Thursday on Intel by calling for CEO Lip-Bu Tan to resign.
Trump demanded Tan resign over his alleged financial ties to the Chinese Communist Party and its military arm, first documented by Reuters.
“The CEO of INTEL is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately. There is no other solution to this problem,” Trump wrote in a post to his own Truth Social platform.
It’s the latest quarrel between the party in power and Intel, which has gotten federal and state grants for its under-construction Ohio project, among others across the country. Earlier this year, Trump suggested Congress roll back the CHIPS and Science Act, of which Intel is one of the biggest benefactors.
When Intel broke ground in Licking County less than three years ago, the semiconductor manufacturer said it could be online by 2025, but that aggressive plan for its eventual central Ohio plants has pushed later and later since. Intel announced the newest timeline adjustment in February, punting the date to finish one fabrication plant to 2030 and the second “fab” to 2031. Neither will come online until at least 2031.
Moreno wrote in a post to X on Thursday he believes Intel “has failed to meet the commitments it made” to Ohio, and called on the state to initiate an investigation into Intel for fraud. When asked, Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel was on another page on the project and its progress.
“Maybe some people have more information than others, but based on the information I have, and I’ve been out there, I’ve seen the work they’re doing, I know nothing that tells me that their intentions aren’t good,” Tressel said.
In an online statement, Intel wrote later Thursday it is “committed to advancing U.S. national and economic security interests and are making significant investments aligned with the President’s America First agenda.”
“Intel has been manufacturing in America for 56 years. We are continuing to invest billions of dollars in domestic semiconductor R&D and manufacturing,” the statement read. It went on to mention its work in Arizona but not Ohio.
