Intel CEO Brian Krzanich Just Stepped Down from Trump’s Council

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich stepped down from president Donald Trump’s American Manufacturing Council on Monday night, citing the need for renewed focus on the decline of American manufacturing. Krzanich joins Merck CEO Kenneth C. Frazier and Under Armor CEO Kenneth Plank, who also resigned from the council on Monday.

Trump released a statement over the weekend denouncing the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia “on many sides.” During the clashes between groups, one woman died and 19 others were injured when a terrorist slammed his car into a group of counter-protesters. Trump’s response, which failed to specifically condemn white nationalist groups, was widely criticized.

In his blog entry, Krzanich said:

I have already made clear my abhorrence at the recent hate-spawned violence in Charlottesville, and earlier today I called on all leaders to condemn the white supremacists and their ilk who marched and committed violence. I resigned because I want to make progress, while many in Washington seem more concerned with attacking anyone who disagrees with them. We should honor – not attack – those who have stood up for equality and other cherished American values. I hope this will change, and I remain willing to serve when it does.

I am not a politician. I am an engineer who has spent most of his career working in factories that manufacture the world’s most advanced devices. Yet, it is clear even to me that nearly every issue is now politicized to the point where significant progress is impossible. Promoting American manufacturing should not be a political issue.

My request—my plea—to everyone involved in our political system is this: set scoring political points aside and focus on what is best for the nation as a whole. The current environment must change, or else our nation will become a shadow of what it once was and what it still can and should be.

Frazier’s decision to step down prompted sharp criticism from Trump:

At the time of writing, Trump has not commented on Krzanich or Frazier’s resignations.

The three are not the first to leave Trump’s advisory councils. Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Disney CEO Robert Iger both quit councils over Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. In June, six members of the president’s advisory council on HIV/AIDS resigned after deciding that “the policies promoted by this administration […] are grossly antagonistic to the health of people with HIV.”