Josh Hawley's Allies on Data Center Bill Before Republicans Lose Majority
As Republicans scramble after major midterm losses, Senator Josh Hawley is pushing to take action against data centers.
Missouri Senator Josh Hawley and his Republican allies are advocating for a moratorium on data centers before the party loses its majority in six weeks. Data center moratoriums have been proposed by various parties this year, including Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act.
The 2026 midterms are seen as a test of the economy, with communities feeling the impacts of data centers, such as high utility costs, environmental concerns, and noise issues. Critics argue that these facilities pass substantial infrastructure costs onto ordinary electricity consumers. Some Republicans, like Jason Williamson, CEO of AI startup MythWorx, believe this is a winnable issue.
Hawley, who has long been an outspoken critic of AI and data centers, has cosponsored the GRID Act to prevent data centers from driving up energy costs. He has also launched an investigation into OpenAI following the Hugging Face incident. Despite the opposition, Hawley and his allies hope to introduce common-sense legislation to regulate data centers and address the economic concerns they pose.
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