Donald Trump
The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 was introduced on September 30 by a bipartisan group of senators including Republicans Shelley Moore Capito and Mike Lee and Democrats Sheldon Whitehouse and Martin Heinrich. The 417-page bill would change federal permitting procedures, including environmental reviews. It would speed federal approvals for energy and infrastructure projects and require large data centres, defined there as those with 20 megawatts or more of demand, to cover the full cost of grid infrastructure they require, so residential and commercial ratepayers don’t absorb it, according to a summary reported by trade outlet Contractor.
The measure is designed to lower electricity costs for consumers while supporting economic growth and job creation through faster project development, according to the president. The proposal aligns with Trump’s broader energy agenda since returning to the White House, which has focused on expanding fossil fuel production and easing regulatory barriers. Supporters, including the National Association of Counties, say it would modernise an outdated permitting system.
The House recently passed the Ratepayer Protection Act by a 417-3 vote. Data centres accounted for 4.4% of US electricity consumption in 2023, with that figure projected to rise to as much as 12% by 2028, according to a Department of Energy-backed report from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Trump said the legislation would require data centres to pay for their own electricity infrastructure rather than passing those costs on to households and other consumers. He also said data centre operators would be required to invest in surrounding communities. A key feature of the bill is its approach to rapidly growing electricity demand from artificial intelligence data centres. The president warned that excessive restrictions on energy and data centre development in the United States could benefit China, arguing that projects rejected domestically may simply move overseas.
China competition at centre of debate
Concerns over maintaining US leadership in artificial intelligence have increasingly become part of the discussion around data centre expansion. Former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein recently warned that opposition to data centre projects could become “a gift to China. Meanwhile, technology analyst Dan Ives has argued that a Democratic takeover of Congress could slow the buildout of AI infrastructure by jeopardising some planned US data centre projects.