Republicans Are Breaking With Donald Trump On Data Centers

Battleground Republicans are breaking from President Donald Trump on data centers. So far, they’re getting away with it.

In recent weeks, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Michigan GOP Senate nominee Mike Rogers and Pennsylvania GOP gubernatorial nominee Stacy Garrity have called for temporary pauses on data center projects. Rep. Tom Tiffany, Republicans’ gubernatorial candidate in Wisconsin, launched an attack ad painting his Democratic rival as too pro-data centers. Michigan GOP Rep. Tom Barrett also rolled out an ad last week saying “I stood up to my own party” on data centers and introduced legislation to shore up local control over them.

It’s a stark shift in a party that had previously embraced the burgeoning industry, which Trump has positioned as a critical piece of winning the artificial intelligence race with China. In some cases, the candidates are issuing their new, restrictive data center policies without consulting the White House, according to Garrity and advisers to Barrett, Abbott and Tiffany.

The president, for now, is allowing the pivot.

He admitted last week that the industry needs “a little public relations help” and appeared to give Republicans a long leash on the issue, telling reporters Friday: “If a Republican’s against a data center, that’s OK with me.”

It’s a notable move for a president not known for accepting perceived disloyalty or pushback on his agenda — and it reflects Republicans’ need to be on the right side of an increasingly potent policy issue as they race to keep control of Washington.

“This is one of those 80/20 issues that politicians don't want to be on the wrong side of,” said Jason Roe, a Michigan-based GOP strategist who is advising Barrett. “This does seem to be an indication that candidates are going to be allowed to do what they need to do to get reelected.”

The White House did not answer POLITICO’s questions on why the president is OK with Republicans’ disparate views on data centers, whether his loosened leash is a midterm strategy and whether the administration is coordinating with candidates on their regulations.

Both parties are grappling with how to respond to the rapidly shifting politics around data centers, as Republican and Democratic voters alike sour on the developments. More people now oppose nearby data centers than support them, according to a July POLITICO Poll.

Democrats have tried to own data center messaging by coming out more quickly against the massive hubs and tying their rapid growth to voters’ cost of living concerns. Republicans are racing to catch up, as the issue quickly emerges as one of the preeminent attack lines of the general election, including in battleground states like Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro slapped regulations on data centers last week after previously cutting red tape for them, making him one of several Democratic governors moving to rein in projects they once embraced. Democratic congressional candidates have also campaigned on varying degrees of regulation.

Republicans are coalescing behind the idea of local control — prioritizing local autonomy over data centers as well as making operators pay their own utilities (like Trump’s “Ratepayer Protection Pledge”) — as a salvo and a salve. Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, in a recent memo, emphasized the need to leave data center decisions to local officials and warned Democratic efforts to weaponize voter backlash to the hubs could hurt incumbent GOP Sen. Jon Husted in Ohio.

Barrett also leaned into local control in his new ad, parrying one from his Democratic rival William Lawrence that accused the Republican of supporting a data center development. Roe, the Barrett campaign strategist, said the incumbent had cut the ad earlier in the summer and banked it in case data centers became an attack line — which it did, as Lawrence emphasized his push for a full moratorium on the campaign trail.

Republicans insist they’re not breaking with Trump, who often seeks to punish those who step out of line.

Garrity said on a press call last week that “I don’t think I am” out of step with the president: “We just need a little bit of time to get all the stakeholders around the table and make sure that they have what they need to make sure that they’re protecting their communities,” Garrity said. “The two are not mutually exclusive.”

Trump recently called Abbott’s move to pump the brakes on projects in his state a “mistake” in a Punchbowl News interview. But the Texas governor still defends his crackdown, telling ABC on Sunday that he’s putting guardrails on an unruly industry that risks straining the state’s resources.

Abbott spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris said in a statement that the governor’s “top priority is to protect Texans’ safety and quality of life and ensure the integrity of our power grid and water supply.” He did not address POLITICO's questions about Trump’s remark, whether Abbott had spoken with the White House on data center policy and whether the governor was concerned about any potential repercussions from the administration.