Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-Pennsylvania) recently signed an executive order that places strict and legally binding guardrails on new AI data center construction to prevent what he calls predatory, speculative developments and to protect consumers in his state.
"I'm using the full weight of my executive authority to put in place immediate protections for the people of Pennsylvania against bad-faith developers of AI data centers," he said.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), and Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Mohammed El-Sayed have also called for the federal government to do something about data centers.
"They are racing to construct thousands of giant AI data centers and jacking up the utility costs of everyday Americans to pay for it," AOC has warned.
But Democrats and those who caucus with them are not the only ones concerned about data centers. Republicans like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott have also responded.
"I established clear guardrails to ensure data centers protect our electric grid, conserve our water, respect our neighborhoods, and pay their own way," Abbott stated in an Aug. 18 press release. "They must not pass costs on to Texas families or interfere with their quality of life."
Responding to the concerns on the "Fox & Friends" program, Fox Business personality Lou Basenese recently argued it would be a "grave mistake" not to have and build more data centers.
"This is a national security issue that's turning into a local zoning issue," he said, comparing it to a poorly run homeowners' meeting. "We're putting politicians in charge of a technology that very few of them ever understand, and it's moving too fast."
In the segment that got the attention of Media Matters, a left-leaning media watchdog, he also pointed out that nobody wanted 5G and cell towers in their backyard, but they wanted five bars of coverage.
"Same thing here playing out with data centers," Basenese posed.
As for the cost, he said "the funny thing" is an average data center uses as much water as your local Olive Garden, and he does not hear anyone blaming Olive Garden for their bills going up.
At least one Democrat has criticized his party's opposition to data centers; Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman has compared the mindset to a China-first policy, meaning opposition to data centers in the U.S. is letting China win the battle over data centers.
Meanwhile, Gov. Tate Reeves (R-Mississippi) has called New York leaders "idiots" for wanting to ban data centers.
