{"id":406714,"date":"2026-01-13T16:27:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T16:27:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/406714\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T16:27:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T16:27:07","slug":"a-perfect-wild-storm-widely-loathed-datacenters-see-little-us-political-opposition-us-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/406714\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018A perfect, wild storm\u2019: widely loathed datacenters see little US political opposition | US politics"},"content":{"rendered":"

In late October, an unlikely coalition formed to fiercely oppose<\/a> controversial plans for more than a dozen Michigan datacenters \u2013 rightwing \u201cStop the Steal\u201d activists joined forces with groups like the Democratic Socialists of America, and people of all political stripes in between.<\/p>\n

Polling showed<\/a> just 28% of residents supported new datacenters, and, amid the furor, Michigan state congressman Dylan Wegela introduced a bill<\/a> to repeal datacenter tax credits. Despite an opportunity for what looked like an easy political win, the bill has few co-sponsors, is unlikely to move in the state house, and most datacenter plans are poised to be built.<\/p>\n

Wegela in part attributed the tepid legislative response to \u201ca lack of political courage\u201d from other politicians.<\/p>\n

But the situation in Michigan<\/a> is emblematic of the broader dynamics unfolding around datacenters in the US. The centers are often so widely loathed across the political spectrum that they are bringing together people who can agree on little else, and the issue has been dubbed \u201cthe great unifier\u201d.<\/p>\n

Despite this, there has been scant political opposition or action among many Democrats or Republicans<\/a> \u2013 why?<\/p>\n

In short, there is a very powerful confluence of forces pushing for datacenters, advocates say.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a perfect, wild storm,\u201d said Christy McGillivray, a former Sierra Club Michigan lobbyist who helped push for stronger regulations around the centers in the state.<\/p>\n

Among other issues, national Republican and Democrat leadership are jockeying for big tech\u2019s financial favor in the wake of an election cycle in which the sector shattered spending records as it shifted from leaning left to right<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, those who benefit most from centers represent a potent political force: big tech, the fossil fuel industry, utility companies and the AFL-CIO are allied in support of datacenters and the claims of new jobs they might create. At the same time, the political establishment has made AI expansion a national security issue, and some pro-business Democrats<\/a> in Michigan are driven by purported economic development.<\/p>\n

Moreover, the problems are relatively new, and many Congress members are not yet educated enough on the issue, industry observers say.<\/p>\n

The grassroots opposition stems from fears that the centers would increase energy bills<\/a>, deplete water sources, destroy communities\u2019 rural character, pollute<\/a>, and cause more fossil fuel to be built<\/a>. The centers, which house AI infrastructure, create very few jobs, and AI is in part designed to eliminate many jobs.<\/p>\n

With state and federal lawmakers largely in support, David v Goliath fights are playing<\/a> out at the local level across the US, often pitting<\/a> working- and middle-class residents of all political backgrounds against the interests of tech oligarchs.<\/p>\n

McGillivray said state and federal inaction risks further alienating people at a fragile time in US democracy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s incredibly dangerous for elected officials to feed into the perception that democratic governance cannot do what the vast majority of people want,\u201d McGillivray said.<\/p>\n

The levels of political pushback vary from calls for a moratorium on new datacenters to raising concerns in public statements. Many of those taking action are from the Democratic party\u2019s left wing \u2013 though not all.<\/p>\n

Over the last month, at the federal level, Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib called for<\/a> a moratorium, while others like Senators Ed Markey, Ron Wyden, Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal and Congressman Ro Khanna called for<\/a> stricter regulations or investigations.<\/p>\n

At the state level, Florida\u2019s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, has proposed<\/a> a sweeping set of measures that aim to protect residents from exploitation by big tech datacenters and AI. Virginia\u2019s Democratic governor, Abigail Spanberger, made capping utility bills<\/a> a campaign focus in 2025.<\/p>\n

Still, the scattered response does not match the issue\u2019s speed or depth, advocates say. That is in part because many politicians do not yet understand how the centers impact on communities, or grasp the breadth of the opposition, said Michelle Deatrick, chair of the Democratic National Committee\u2019s Climate Council, who works on datacenter issues in Congress.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all happening really fast, and at the national level, a lot of elected leaders I meet with just don\u2019t know that much yet,\u201d Deatrick said.<\/p>\n

They added that they expect that more candidates \u2013 incumbents and challengers \u2013 will begin making datacenters a campaign issue as the midterm races heat up throughout 2026.<\/p>\n

Educating lawmakers is in part the goal of a Food And Water Watch-spearheaded campaign. In December, it sent a letter signed<\/a> by over 230 consumer and environmental protection groups to Congress members demanding a moratorium.<\/p>\n

The campaign is also trying to connect local grassroots opposition to harness that energy and direct it at lawmakers, said Jim Walsh, policy director for Food and Water Watch.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to put a halt to more datacenters while policymakers put policies in place that won\u2019t adversely affect people,\u201d Walsh said.<\/p>\n

The broader issue, he added, is money in politics. Tech oligarchs spent about $240m supporting Republicans and just $52m supporting Democrats last session, a Guardian analysis<\/a> of federal records found. Democratic leadership is viewed as tiptoeing around tech leaders who they want to win back.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe political system is dominated by big money interests that have spent millions of dollars to try to brush these issues, like energy costs, under the rug,\u201d Walsh said. He noted that the Republican party has control over Congress and the White House, and it drives policy. Trump, who is closely allied with big tech, is attempting to stop states from regulating data centers.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the AFL-CIO has complicated the issue for Democrats. The union\u2019s leadership typically supports projects for which the organization would benefit, even if it is widely opposed by the public. Advocates in Michigan said stronger regulations and consumer protections would be in place had the AFL-CIO not opposed them.<\/p>\n

Advocates also say some Democrats\u2019 tepid response is part of a broader problem with the party \u2013 an engrained unwillingness to take bold action on major problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s almost no risk involved in embracing this issue, so it\u2019s like it\u2019s a cultural thing from the party\u2019s top leaders,\u201d Deatrick said.<\/p>\n

The inaction in Congress has pushed the battles to the state level. In Georgia, a Democrat candidate for the state\u2019s public utility commission, which regulates datacenters\u2019 energy use, won in a landslide October upset, in part because he campaigned on stronger regulation of the industry<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In Michigan, Oracle and OpenAI are proposing a datacenter<\/a> backed by the Trump administration and the Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer. The companies and government would invest about $7bn, and Whitmer and other pro-business Democrats have touted it as the largest project in state history, and a massive economic win.<\/p>\n

But it is receiving potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in state and federal tax breaks, and would create very few jobs. Meanwhile, datacenters in the state have a history of not delivering on job or tax revenue creation estimates.<\/p>\n

Still, pro-business Democrats view the centers and economic development as a \u201cmagical unicorn that will solve everyone\u2019s problems,\u201d said Yousef Rabhi, a former state legislator and clean energy advocate. Many politicians refuse to consider the facilities\u2019 externalized costs and problems, Rabhi added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no discernment and anytime you start asking these questions, it\u2019s met with a \u2018How dare you question or push back on it,\u2019\u201d Rabhi said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In late October, an unlikely coalition formed to fiercely oppose controversial plans for more than a dozen Michigan…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":406715,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[49,48,84,392],"class_list":{"0":"post-406714","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-healthcare"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=406714"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406714\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/406715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=406714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=406714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=406714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}