Republicans are pushing to expand artificial intelligence infrastructure, but early divisions within the GOP are complicating efforts to streamline the data centers needed to support it.
Artificial intelligence has become a key policy issue in Congress and on the campaign trail, especially as the White House pushes for its expansion to boost economic and national security. Trump, himself, has raised concerns about energy consumption by data centers, but has also urged Congress to “preempt state AI laws” and pass legislation that will address the issue without hindering innovation.
That push ran into resistance this week. The House Judiciary Committee was set to take up a bill that would limit federal legal challenges to permits for data center construction. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Michael Baumgartner (R-WA), was scheduled for a markup, but it was postponed at the last minute, his office confirmed.
The legislation received some early pushback from Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), a member of the Judiciary Committee. Massie posted on X that he would vote no on the legislation because “no industry deserves special treatment under the law.”
“If the regulations are too onerous, repeal them for everyone,” Massie said.
Massie later wrote that he “wasn’t the only Republican uncomfortable” with the measure, noting “thankfully the bill got pulled from consideration.”
A source familiar with the committee’s thinking told the Washington Examiner the bill was pulled prior to the start of the markup for procedural reasons.
As it stands, if adopted, Baumgartner’s bill would allow permits for AI centers and infrastructure to remain in place, even as environmental reviews are being challenged by litigation. The proposal reflects broader concerns Republicans have about regulation and permitting hindering economic development, as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) explained during a speech at the Hill and Valley Forum on Wednesday.
“We all know the amount of energy required to power all these data centers and meet our national demands is truly enormous,” Johnson said. “True dominance will require a comprehensive and coherent approach, and we’re keenly aware of that. That means unleashing natural gas and oil and nuclear and coal and reversing the green energy failures of the last administration. We also need to further streamline permitting and cut back red tape, all that had choked off nearly all energy and industrial development for far too long. And we’ve been doing that and we have much more yet to do.”
But while Republicans broadly agree on expanding AI infrastructure, they have yet to settle on how aggressively to streamline regulations or balance the energy demands that come with it. They have also been slow to move legislation on the topic through Congress.
Critics on both sides of the aisle have warned that fast-tracking federal permitting for the data centers without regulation could put a strain on the country’s power grid.
Baumgartner’s bill is one of the first congressional proposals on data centers to receive a committee vote, with other bills and resolutions stuck in various committees.
In the Senate, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) unveiled a bill last week that would codify a “ratepayer protection pledge” as pushed by the White House. But it is unclear whether the GOP will make the legislation a top priority.
On the other side of the aisle, grassroots activists and a handful of progressives have raised concerns about data centers consuming a significant amount of energy and water to the detriment of neighboring citizens.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) introduced a bill on Wednesday to pause new AI data centers until national restrictions are enacted to protect workers and the environment.
“Congress has a moral obligation to stand with the American people and stop the expansion of these data centers until we have a framework to adequately address the existential harm AI poses to our society,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement. “We must choose humanity over profit.”
Given the GOP majorities, the legislation is unlikely to advance in either the House or Senate, but the bill highlights growing concerns with AI as communities in both red and blue states across the country are pushing back against data centers and public opinion of AI is declining.
“New or upgraded AI data centers must not increase the electric and utility bills of consumers, harm the environment, or make climate change even worse,” the bill text states.
Rising energy prices and AI influence took center stage in a number of 2025 and 2026 elections, including the governor’s race in New Jersey and, most recently, in Illinois’s Senate and House races. AI and cryptocurrency lobbies poured millions of dollars into several Illinois primaries that took place on March 17, with many of their preferred Democratic candidates losing.
An NBC poll released in early March found 57% of registered voters believe that the risks from AI outweigh the benefits, and only 26% of voters said they felt positively about AI.
Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez’s bill is already seeing some intraparty backlash. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) argued that a moratorium on data centers would be “China First,” agreeing with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum that pausing the centers would be like waving a “surrender flag” to China.
“The emerging chassis of AI must be built by America. We can put appropriate guardrails in place without handing the win on AI to China,” Fetterman said.
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Some bipartisan efforts on AI are emerging. In a letter sent Wednesday to the Energy Information Administration, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) expressed support for the agency’s review of the impact of data centers on the United States electricity grid. The pair is urging the administration to establish a mandatory annual reporting requirement for data centers.
“Comprehensive, annual energy-use disclosures by data centers and other large loads will inform federal, state, and local policymaking and ensure technology companies operating these large loads comply with their commitments to pay for their own electricity and infrastructure upgrades,” the senators wrote.