GOP Ignores Big Tech’s Data Center Takeover At Its Own Peril

There is a growing cost-of-living issue that Republicans would be wise to confront if they hope to have any success in winning elections this November.

In recent months, there’s been a notable outbreak of citizen-led protests against the development of AI data centers. From Texas and Oklahoma to Wisconsin and Michigan, residents are demanding that their elected officials shut down the planned development of such projects due to the excessive costs they place on the local community.

As The Federalist previously reported, “numerous reports have emerged” over the past year showing how these data centers — which house the infrastructure needed to deliver AI services — “are consuming vast amounts of land, electricity, and water, which in turn is driving up [utility] costs for locals in the area.” Issues involving eminent domain — the government seizure of private property for public use — have also been reported.

The issue took center stage most recently in New Brunswick, New Jersey, where city officials announced last week that they are scrapping any potential plans to erect AI data centers on parcels of land available for development. As noted by Business Insider, “While no data center had yet been proposed, even the possibility that a data center could someday end up there raised alarm among city residents.”

Americans have become so vocal about Big Tech’s data center takeover that their concerns have now reached the nation’s capital.

President Trump acknowledged the issue of growing AI data center-driven utility costs during his State of the Union address on Tuesday night. The president said that he has “negotiated [a] new ratepayer protection pledge” in which “the major tech companies … have the obligation to provide for their own power needs” and “build their own power plants as part of their factory, so that no one’s prices will go up.”

“This is a unique strategy never used in this country before. We have an old grid. It could never handle the kind of numbers, the amount of electricity that’s needed. So I’m telling them they can build their own plant, they’re going to produce their own electricity,” Trump said. “It will ensure the company’s ability to get electricity, while at the same time lowering prices of electricity for you and could be very substantial. For all of these cities and towns, you’re going to see some good things happen over the next number of years.”

While the president’s remarks lacked any specifics on the agreement and how compliance will be enforced, it’s a noticeable pivot in messaging for the administration, whose previous strategy appeared to be pretending the problem was nonexistent. (Although, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum seemingly contradicted the president’s message during a Wednesday interview, in which he falsely claimed that “nobody’s electric bill has gone up because of data centers.”)

Yet even with Trump’s acknowledgement of the issue, it’s unclear whether some Republicans are willing to do what it takes to protect their constituents from Big Tech’s latest pet project.

In Oklahoma, where the GOP holds supermajorities in the state legislature, the House Utilities Committee shot down a comprehensive bill (HB 3724) last week that sought to provide greater local control to residents in pushing back against AI data center development. As described by a local Fox affiliate, the measure — which failed in a 2-6 vote — “would prohibit taxpayer-funded subsidies for data centers, require the facilities to pay 100% of their own infrastructure upgrades, impose strict water-use limitations and give counties and municipalities authority to block such projects entirely.”

The House committee passed several other data center-related bills imposing seemingly weaker restrictions on the facilities and their development, according to The Oklahoman.

Notably, Democrats have made the costs stemming from AI data centers a key point in their campaign messaging. As The Federalist previously reported, left-wing candidates in Georgia and Virginia gained victories in last November’s elections while incorporating the issue into their respective pitches to voters.

“President Trump is the perfect foil for anything that goes wrong at the state level,” Power the Future Founder and Executive Director Daniel Turner told The Federalist at the time. You have these “governors and state officials who are thrilled with the data centers because they see it as tax revenue [and more] construction jobs. … Then, when the electricity prices go through the roof, you get to blame the president and say, ‘President Trump promised to lower electricity prices,’ and you get to wash your hands [of any culpability].”

Trump’s recognition of and signaled intent to tackle the AI data center dilemma plaguing communities across the country is a positive development. But Republican governors and lawmakers in so-called “red states” and counties must do more to get in the fight and take actions necessary to protect their residents. (And contrary to his preference for a federal-only approach to AI, Trump should encourage them to do so.)

Should the Grand Old Party fail to act, Democrats will not hesitate to capitalize on this issue and make it a cornerstone of their 2026 campaign to retake Congress and state legislatures throughout America. No matter how disingenuous Democrats may be on the subject, Republicans can’t afford to ignore it any longer.

Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood