Republicans Are Turning Against Data Centers, Fast

News admin August 28, 2026 0 Comments

Republicans Are Turning Against Data Centers, Fast

Republican leaders are increasingly turning against data center development even as the Trump administration remains staunchly in favor of building them.

Across red states, Republicans who once welcomed the economic investment promised by artificial intelligence infrastructure are beginning to pump the brakes as constituents raise concerns about electricity prices and water consumption.

Texas State Sen. Charles Schwertner said a July hearing revealed growing unease among Texas landowners. “After hearing hours of testimony from Texas landowners, one thing is clear: landowners deserve a fair and transparent (Certificate of Convenience and Necessity). Texans’ property rights must be protected,” he said.

Republicans elsewhere are not just sounding the alarm, but introducing legislation to block the tech industry’s newest wave to please their constituents. Oklahoma State Senator Kendal Sacchieri wants to impose a three-year statewide moratorium on new data centers. “By pausing further development, the state can gain empirical evidence on how large-scale data centers interact with Oklahoma’s infrastructure and environment, and tailor regulations that protect residents and ratepayers without undermining economic prospects,” she said.

In key 2026 races, battleground candidates like Mike Rogers in Michigan, Tom Tiffany in Wisconsin, and Ken Paxton in Texas have all signaled increased opposition to data centers in recent weeks.

But while Republican lawmakers face pressure to slow data-center development at home, they are receiving the opposite message from the top of their party. President Donald Trump has made expanding America’s artificial intelligence infrastructure a major component of his economic and national security agenda, but in July, the president seemed to offer his fellow Republicans a compromise to bring back home. Trump hosted an event where over 200 utilities, tech companies, and governors agreed to ensure artificial intelligence data centers are paying for their energy infrastructure without raising residential bills. This allows states to keep building data centers, but makes them pay for themselves by requiring them to BYOE (bring their own energy).

One week later, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who was one of the governors who signed President Trump’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge at the July event, appeared to embrace that approach. Abbott announced that his administration would subject data centers seeking to connect to the Texas electric grid to an energy audit. Projects that demonstrate they can supply their own electricity could move through the review process, while those planning to draw heavily from the Texas grid could see their requests to build getting denied.

“Texans must come first,” Abbott said. “Any project that fails to comply with the requirements set forth by the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas must be denied connection to the Texas grid.” The governor did not say how long the review process would take. But the scale of the requests facing Texas regulators illustrates why the issue has become politically difficult to ignore.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas is weighing connection requests that, if granted, would total more than five times the state’s record peak electricity demand, with roughly 90% of those requests coming from data centers. Texas lawmakers have warned that the “unprecedented load growth could endanger the reliability and stability of the Texas electric grid.”

Abbott’s response seems to have left Texas business interests pleased but angered his rural base. Venture capitalist Jason Calacanis, who left Silicon Valley for Texas, emphasized that Abbott’s action was not a ban on development. “Governor Abbott announced this week an energy audit,” Calacanis said. “Not that he’s going to slow things down, not that it’s a moratorium but that everybody has to go through an energy audit.” Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller seemed to have the same read as Calacanis, calling Abbott’s latest move “all smoke and mirrors.”

“He [Abbott] hasn’t done anything really,” Miller said. “It’s all smoke and mirrors and campaign fluff to gain votes. It’s not about the people of Texas or protecting our grid or protecting our water or protecting our land base.”