The bipartisan backlash to Big Tech's AI data centers is getting harder for politicians to ignore

Americans are pushing back against AI data center developments. Richmond Times-Dispatch/Richmond Times-Dispatch via Getty Images AI data centers have become a minefield for US lawmakers ahead of the midterm elections. Politicians who once courted AI data centers in their towns and states are now restricting them. That can mean breaking with Trump, who has called resisting data centers a "mistake." To build or not to build? That is the question local politicians are asking themselves as Big Tech's push to develop enormous AI data centers runs up against a growing number of Americans revolting against them. That's especially true in Republican-controlled states, where much of the data center boom is taking hold. Republican governors and state lawmakers, as the midterms fast approach, are beginning to acknowledge voters who are concerned about the proliferation of large data centers, even if that means breaking with President Donald Trump .