With 10 weeks remaining before the midterm elections, voters are predictably divided on a wide variety of issues, though there is one thing that seems to be having a unifying effect across much of the political spectrum: Most Americans really seem to hate data centers.
In fact, the National Republican Senatorial Committee prepared a memo this month that warned party officials and candidates that Americans’ attitudes toward data centers have turned toxic. An Axios report on the document added, “AI CEOs and top Republicans share in the rising panic. They tell us internal polls show data centers are as popular as spent nuclear waste.”
Donald Trump, however, seems wholly indifferent to voters’ sentiments. To a surprising degree, the president continues to position himself as one of the political world’s most enthusiastic champions of data centers, as evidenced by the message he delivered during an interview with his former fixer, Michael Cohen, that aired on Sunday.
“Communities that don’t take a data center,” the president said, “they’re making a mistake.”
The problem, however, isn’t limited to Trump’s indifference to public opposition. To make matters worse, his administration is taking steps to circumvent public opposition. The New York Times reported:
The Trump administration is moving to make it harder for communities to weigh in on proposed data centers, even as a backlash against the behemoth projects grows across the country.
The Environmental Protection Agency plans to eliminate a federal requirement that states publicize and solicit public input on applications for air pollution permits for a range of industrial facilities, including new data centers and the power plants needed to run them.
In other words, if public comment periods are likely to reflect broad opposition to data centers, the administration’s solution is to close the window on public input before such a center can begin.
The Times’ report added that, under the EPA’s approach, residents in local communities might lose the ability to raise concerns about data centers before permits are approved and construction starts. In some cases, people might not even learn about the projects’ existence until it’s too late.
The EPA’s plan isn’t yet final, and it’s facing pushback from Democratic attorneys general from 14 states, but in the meantime, there’s no reason why Republican lawmakers and GOP congressional candidates shouldn’t face a straightforward question: “Do you agree with the administration’s plan to circumvent public opposition to data centers?”
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