In brief
- Republican Senator Josh Hawley wants a nationwide data center moratorium until Congress protects consumers from higher electricity rates.
- The Senate voted 73-25 on Monday to advance debate on a bipartisan bill that speeds energy infrastructure permits while making data centers cover added grid costs.
- New polling shows opposition crosses party lines, but Hawley has not introduced a detailed moratorium bill.
Republican Senator Josh Hawley wants Congress to hit the brakes on new data centers, just as lawmakers are moving forward with legislation intended to make building the infrastructure behind America’s AI boom easier.
The Missouri senator called for a nationwide moratorium Wednesday, listing it among five priorities for Senate Republicans during the six weeks before Democrats take control of the chamber.
“Senate Republicans trying to figure out what to do in the next 6 weeks?” Hawley wrote on X. His answer included a moratorium on data centers, alongside defunding Planned Parenthood, suspending the gas tax and other Republican priorities.
A spokesperson told Politico that Hawley wants a federal pause until Congress passes a “bill of rights giving taxpayers guarantees of no rate increases.” Hawley has not presented detailed legislation specifying which projects would stop or how long the freeze would last.
