Intel was a big winner in former President Joe Biden’s CHIPS Act, which doled out billions in grants to help strengthen the U.S.’s semiconductor capabilities. But Trump has instead focused on tariffs to incentivize domestic manufacturing and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has said Trump is reworking some of the CHIPS Act deals.

INTEL chief executive officer (CEO) Lip-Bu Tan is already facing an uphill battle in turning around the ailing chipmaker. Now, US president Donald Trump’s demand that Tan resign over his ties to Chinese firms will only distract him from that task, two investors and a former senior employee said.

A change in leadership could pile pressure on the company as it pushes through a major strategic reset that Lip-Bu Tan started.