Ohio LG Tressel backs Intel as Moreno calls for investigation

Ohio’s second-in-command appears to be backing Intel — at least for now — amid concerns about the company’s CEO’s possible ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

“I don’t know any other thing to do other than be confident that we’re going to get this thing figured out,” Republican Lt. Governor Jim Tressel told State Affairs.

“Obviously, if someone’s a part of the CCP, it’s a problem in my mind. But I think you have to be fair until facts come out,” the lieutenant governor told The Columbus Dispatch. “You don’t really know the story, and we’re going to continue to have confidence that Intel’s going to keep progressing.”

The statement comes amid criticism from President Trump, who called for Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan to resign.

“The CEO of INTEL is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately,” Trump said in a post to Truth Social. “There is no other solution to this problem. Thank you for your attention to this problem!”

Trump’s comment follows a letter Republican U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton sent to Intel Chairman Frank Yeary, raisingconcern over the Intel chief executive’s investments and ties to semiconductor firms linked to the Chinese Communist Party and the People’s Liberation Army. Before his role at Intel, Tan was CEO of Cadence Design Systems.

The company “pleaded guilty to illegally selling its products to a Chinese military university and transferring its technology to an associated Chinese semiconductor company without obtaining licenses,” Cotton wrote in the letter. “These illegal activities occurred under Mr. Tan’s tenure.”

Intel is building two semiconductor manufacturing plants in New Albany. The timeline for the $28 billion project has repeatedly been adjusted.

“We are engaging with the Administration to address the matters that have been raised and ensure they have the facts,” Tan told ABC News. “I fully share the President’s commitment to advancing U.S. national and economic security, I appreciate his leadership to advance these priorities, and I’m proud to lead a company that is so central to these goals.”

However, Trump has an advocate in Republican U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno.

“It’s pretty obvious that [Intel] has failed to meet the commitments it made to the people of Ohio,” Moreno said in a post to X. “Now we find out its new CEO is deeply conflicted with ties to the CCP. The CEO must immediately resign, the project completed, and a fraud investigation should be initiated by Ohio.”

It’s pretty obvious that @intel has failed to meet the commitments it made to the people of Ohio. Now we find out its new CEO is deeply conflicted with ties to the CCP. The CEO must immediately resign, the project completed, and a fraud investigation should be initiated by Ohio.

— Bernie Moreno (@berniemoreno) August 7, 2025

In an interview with The Columbus Dispatch, Moreno said that there should be more efforts to hold Intel accountable for the delays at its Ohio factory. Additionally, he said the company should be examined to ensure it hasn’t misused public funding for the Licking County project.

“They made lots of promises to Ohio. What I worry about is we end up with a white elephant in Licking County with a facility or fab that isn’t completed,” Moreno told The Columbus Dispatch. “We should investigate to see if there was fraud committed.”

The feds gave Intel nearly $7.9 billion in taxpayer money last year from the federal CHIPS Act. Additionally, the Buckeye State has chipped in hundreds of millions of dollars in incentives.

“Intel, the Board of Directors, and Lip-Bu Tan are deeply committed to advancing U.S. national and economic security interests and are making significant investments aligned with the President’s America First agenda,” Intel said in a statement to The Columbus Dispatch.

“Intel has been manufacturing in America for 56 years,” the company added in its statement. “We are continuing to invest billions of dollars in domestic semiconductor R&D and manufacturing, including our new fab in Arizona that will run the most advanced manufacturing process technology in the country, and are the only company investing in leading logic process node development in the U.S. We look forward to our continued engagement with the Administration.”

Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Husted also said he spoke with Intel and said the company needs to come clean.

“Ohioans and the American people deserve the truth,” Husted said in a post to X. “I shared that I expect answers to the questions Sen. Cotton has asked in his letter, and they promised me they would respond promptly.

I just spoke with Intel. Ohioans and the American people deserve the truth. I shared that I expect answers to the questions Sen. Cotton has asked in his letter, and they promised me they would respond promptly.

The facts have not changed: We need an American company to make… pic.twitter.com/jorSGJYC6S

— Senator Jon Husted (@SenJonHusted) August 7, 2025

“The facts have not changed: We need an American company to make American chips on American soil,” Husted added. “Producing the world’s most advanced high-tech chips in the U.S. is not just economic policy—it’s a national security imperative. Every day we are not doing that, we are putting our country at risk.”