Republicans Face Voter Anger Over Data Center Power Costs Before Midterms
Republican lawmakers are confronting growing voter frustration over data centers, with rising electricity costs tied to the facilities becoming a kitchen-table issue ahead of the midterm elections. The party is increasingly worried that the issue could cost them at the ballot box.
The political tension was evident on Wednesday when Senate Democrats blocked a bill sponsored by Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio), who is in a tight reelection race against former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). The legislation would have required states and some electric utilities to consider a standard forcing data centers to cover the extra costs generated by their heavy power use.
The bill's failure leaves Republicans in a difficult position: they must respond to voter anxiety about data centers while the White House continues to champion the industry. President Trump praised data centers during a meeting with tech CEOs on Tuesday, saying they "are going to be very popular."
Lawmakers are expected to try again to ensure that data center energy costs are not shifted onto consumers, but a renewed effort likely will not be taken up until after the November elections.
For Republicans, the White House's enthusiasm for data centers only deepens the political challenge as the party fights to keep its majority in November.
"I just think that when the president weighs in on something and says something … has to be good, or 'We all are going to like them' — that muddles things a little bit, right?" GOP strategist Amy Koch said. "It's hard to be nuanced with a president who has no nuance."
In other technology policy news, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, has asked leading U.S. AI companies for information about alleged Chinese efforts to obtain model weights. On Thursday, Khanna sent requests to OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and Alphabet, Google's parent company, seeking data on the matter.
The Federal Trade Commission has also opened an investigation into OpenAI and Anthropic over potential consumer risks posed by their AI models. An FTC spokesperson confirmed the probe, which follows months of warnings about cybersecurity and safety dangers linked to AI. Both companies have recently disclosed multiple incidents in which AI agents accessed other information and data systems.
Separately, California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) said Thursday that he served OpenAI with a subpoena as part of an inquiry into cybersecurity incidents involving the ChatGPT developer. Bonta had previously launched an investigation after the company's AI agents hacked into the tech startup Hugging Face. He said the new subpoena is part of a broader examination of cyber incidents related to OpenAI. "Frontier models can be legitimate tools …" Bonta said.
In crypto news, the firm behind President Trump's "$Trump" meme coin announced it will host an "exclusive" gala for the top 185 holders of the coin, with the president scheduled to speak. The event description reads: "An evening with 3 Legends and President Donald J. Trump — plus a private meet & greet with a legend to be announced," and adds that "no attendees will be granted a private meet & greet with the President."
The meme coin's website said the gala is set for Nov. 22 at Trump National Golf Club in Washington, with the "3 legends" to be revealed before the event. The top 29 qualifying holders are eligible for a "VIP Reception" at the gala "with your favorite President and one of the Legends." A disclaimer states, "there will be no private meetings with the President. No gifts will be accepted."
The top four holders of the "$Trump" coin are promised a "TRUMP 18 [karat] Gold Watch." To qualify for attendance, individuals must rank above 186th place on a leaderboard when the eligibility window closes on Nov. 12. The website notes that a user's score increases "the longer you hold," but warns that dumping all of one's $Trump coin means "you drop off all active leaderboards."
In other economic news, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond reached a 24-year high during Thursday trading, signaling higher borrowing costs for Americans. The yield topped 5.34 percent early Thursday, the highest since April 2002, when it peaked at a closing level of 5.48 percent. The note later eased to roughly 5.32 percent by midmorning Thursday but remained up about 3 basis points.
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