Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday called on Intel to fire its new CEO Lip-Bu Tan, alleging that the veteran semiconductor executive is “highly conflicted.”

“THE CEO OF INTEL IS HIGHLY CONFLICTED AND MUST RESIGN, IMMEDIATELY. THERE IS NO OTHER SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Intel did not immediately respond to an inquiry about Trump’s post. The White House also declined to comment.

Tan has been chief executive of Intel since March, following the company’s board decision to replace his predecessor, Pat Gelsinger, in December. The 61-year-old Tan is a Silicon Valley veteran and has led semiconductor and venture capital firms with a global presence for decades.

Tan’s net worth is estimated at $1 billion as of July 1, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The San Francisco-based investment firm he founded in 1981 has its own venture capital operations in Hong Kong and has been one of the largest outside investors in Chinese technology companies over the years.

He had also previously invested in Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), the largest chipmaker in China. SMIC is on a U.S. trade blacklist that restricts its access to chipmaking equipment from U.S. suppliers without a license.

Tan’s past work has come under closer scrutiny in recent days as the result of a letter from U.S. Senator Tom Cotton, a Republican from the state of Arkansas, who cited Tan’s “significant business ties to China” and decades of investments there as a potential conflict of interest.

Intel is the largest advanced chipmaker in the United States. The Arkansas senator, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote in a letter last week to Intel’s board chair Frank Yeary that Tan’s investment in Chinese companies in the past raised “concern about the security and integrity of Intel’s operations.”

Trump’s comments on Intel come as the U.S. government, including the White House and members of Congress, is increasing its scrutiny of foreign business dealings of U.S. companies that receive federal subsidies and are responsible for making national security-related products. The Biden administration, in particular, is pressuring U.S. semiconductor firms to take part in a government-industry partnership to build a secure domestic supply chain that is free of Chinese interference.

Intel’s shares were down 3 percent in pre-market trade in New York on Thursday, after Trump’s post. Tan had taken over as CEO after the Silicon Valley company’s board decided to oust his predecessor in December. Gelsinger, who had been CEO for two years, was replaced as part of an aggressive restructuring to streamline operations and get back to profitability.

Intel’s stock has fallen more than 30 percent this year as Gelsinger’s departure put the onus on Tan to step up Intel’s game. Intel, which used to dominate the semiconductor industry, has fallen behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the largest chipmaker in the world.

Analysts and investors have been taking a close look at Tan as they try to assess how quickly Intel can make its advanced chips in a new world of competition in chips for artificial intelligence (AI) applications. While Intel is the only U.S.-headquartered company that still has the capacity to make the most advanced semiconductors, it has been largely shut out of the fast-growing AI chip market. To help Intel with the transition, the Biden administration has already promised the company billions of dollars in subsidies and loans.

Tan is under significant pressure to get the company back on track as soon as possible, as Intel is now some distance behind TSMC in the race to lead the most advanced manufacturing. In July, Tan warned that without a “significant external customer to backstop Intel’s investments in next-generation manufacturing technology, we may not be able to sustain our leading-edge technology development.”

Cadence Design Systems, based in California, designs software for chip designers. Last week, Cadence acknowledged that it had violated U.S. export controls by selling its products to Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), a Chinese university with “military-civil fusion” ties. That prompted further attention on Tan’s business ties in Asia and his past investments in Chinese companies.