Former President Donald Trump has called for Intel’s new chief executive to resign, describing Lip-Bu Tan as “highly conflicted.”

In a post on his Truth Social account on Thursday, Trump claimed that the semiconductor industry veteran had no choice but to step down. “The CEO of INTEL is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately. There is no other solution to this problem,” Trump wrote. The post did not specify what conflicts Trump was referring to.

Trump’s comments came just days after a Republican senator sent a letter to Intel’s board chairman raising “concern about the security and integrity of Intel’s operations” given Tan’s business relationships with China. In the letter, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) highlighted Tan’s long history of “investing in and advising Chinese technology companies.” Cotton cited Tan’s “known investments and partnerships” in the country as cause for concern over his suitability to lead the U.S.’s largest advanced chipmaker.

Tan is a Silicon Valley veteran with deep roots in semiconductor and venture capital companies. He is the founder and CEO of San Francisco-based investment company eMPIRE. Tan also has companies in Hong Kong that have invested more than $1 billion into Chinese technology firms. Tan’s past investments include Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), China’s largest chipmaker.

Tan also faces increased scrutiny over his past role leading Cadence Design Systems, a California-based chip design software company. Cadence admitted last week to violating U.S. export controls after one of its customers, a Chinese university with known ties to the Chinese military, sold its chip design tools to the People’s Republic of China.

Intel and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Newsweek. In pre-market trading on Thursday morning in New York, Intel’s stock fell 3 percent.

Tan succeeded Intel’s previous CEO Pat Gelsinger, who was fired by the company’s board in December. Tan’s appointment as Intel’s CEO began in March, at a time of crisis for the Silicon Valley firm. Intel has fallen behind rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) in the advanced chipmaking process, which has become a priority for the Biden administration and global governments racing to build AI hardware.

Intel is in a unique position as the last U.S.-based advanced chipmaker. But Intel has missed most of the growth in AI chipmaking, a new field where domestic semiconductor production has become the latest playing field in global competition.

Intel has received billions of dollars in government subsidies and loans to help the company compete in an increasingly difficult market. The government funding has been given to help Intel catch up to Taiwan-based TSMC, with Washington moving to shore up domestic chipmaking and end the U.S. dependence on foreign chipmakers from Taiwan and South Korea. But Intel has already fallen far behind TSMC in advanced manufacturing, putting pressure on Tan to improve Intel’s position as soon as possible.

In July, Tan sent out a warning shot: without an “anchor customer,” Intel may have no choice but to abandon its advanced manufacturing technology. “A significant external customer is not just a ‘nice to have’ anymore. Without it, our ability to continue developing and maturing our technology is in question and may come to a screeching halt,” Tan said at the time. If Intel were to give up on leading-edge manufacturing, TSMC would effectively have a monopoly in the sector.

Tan’s warning coincided with the beginning of a sweeping cost-cutting drive to boost Intel’s profitability. The actions were welcomed by investors, who pushed Intel’s share price up by 10 percent in just two days after Tan’s announcement. But the cuts also raise fresh doubts over Intel’s long-term strategy, as the company seeks to reverse recent losses.

In his letter to Intel, Sen. Cotton noted the special requirements placed on the company given its role as the recipient of billions of taxpayer dollars in subsidies. “Intel is required to be a responsible steward of American taxpayer dollars and to comply with applicable security regulations,” Cotton wrote. “Mr Tan’s associations raise questions about Intel’s ability to fulfill these obligations.”