National Defense

Congress, Big Wig Investors Have New Theory To Explain America’s Data Center Revolt

Unsplash/ Domaintechnik Ledl.net

As the development of data centers in the U.S. faces intense criticism from local communities and legal action, project supporters are claiming “foreign influence” could be fueling the fire.

House Committee on Energy and Commerce Chairman Brett Guthrie, Pennsylvania Republican Rep. John Joyce and Ohio Republican Rep. Bob Latta sent a letter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel demanding an investigation into “foreign influence campaigns” that are allegedly working to slow U.S. AI development. Meanwhile, investors and tech companies have been echoing that message.

“I think these concerns are credible based on the recent information published by OpenAI about the use of their models by actors linked to Chinese influence operations, specifically focused on stoking fear related to data centers,” Joshua Levine, director of technology and statecraft at the Foundation for American Innovation, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Considering the size and notability of this project, it would make sense that foreign actors would engage here.”

But that opposition can’t be fully chalked up to influence from Beijing, as data centers have been linked to “skyrocketing energy bills for everyday families, alarming water consumption in regions already suffering from drought, increased fossil fuel pollution and all manner of other community disruptions,” Mitch Jones, managing director of policy and litigation at Food & Water Watch, an anti-data center environmental advocacy group, told the DCNF.

The issue has already reached a tipping point in localities across the country, with taxpayers ousting city council members over data center deals, or even banning them outright.

Washington has called for investigations into the matter, but at the time of writing, there has been no verified conclusion on supposed Chinese influence from federal agencies. Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton has also called on the Department of Justice to investigate Chinese influence on American data centers, according to a press release on Wednesday.

“The race with China for global leadership and AI dominance must be won by the United States. Recent reports that foreign influence campaigns are working to shape American opinion need to be taken seriously,” Guthrie told the DCNF. “Committee leaders are continuing to address the legitimate concerns communities have about electricity prices—including by advancing legislation like the Ratepayer Protection Act, among other bills—while ensuring America stays competitive as AI advances, and that foreign adversaries are not shaping this debate to China’s advantage through mis- and disinformation campaigns.”

“In accordance with Department of Justice policy, the FBI can neither confirm nor deny conducting specific investigations,” the FBI told the DCNF.

‘Plain To See’

Local resistance to data centers has exploded across the U.S. as wealthy investors and billion-dollar AI companies pour vast sums of money into their development.

Alliance for a Better Utah and five Box Elder County residents filed a lawsuit against investor and entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary, aiming to block the Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA) and Box Elder County from moving forward with O’Leary’s Stratos data center project area plan.

“This lawsuit asks one fundamental question: Do Utah residents have the right to be governed by elected officials who are accountable to them?” David Irvine, attorney for the plaintiffs, said on June 3, according to a press release, adding that the state’s development authority is usurping constitutional powers.

O’Leary has garnered much attention with his data center project in Utah through frequent media appearances and social media posts.

“Who would want us to stop building our electrical grid? Who would wanna stop us from having compute capacity to develop AI? Which adversary would want that? There’s only one. It’s China,” O’Leary said in an X post on May 11. “We noticed an immediate spike in misinformation on two platforms, Instagram and X, formerly Twitter. Why is this happening across America?”

“These disingenuous attacks from Kevin O’Leary and Big Tech are as desperate as they are ridiculous,” Jones told the DCNF. “The rapidly expanding grassroots opposition to out-of-control AI data center construction is plain to see.”

Who would want us to stop building our electrical grid? Who would wanna stop us from having compute capacity to develop AI? Which adversary would want that? There’s only one. It’s China. We noticed an immediate spike in misinformation on two platforms, Instagram and X, formerly… pic.twitter.com/2vpNRP0zQ3

— Kevin O’Leary aka Mr. Wonderful (@kevinolearytv) May 11, 2026

OpenAI banned two clusters of accounts “likely originating from China” that were being used to generate content for “covert influence operations” that were being used to manipulate opinions of American AI on social media.

“It shows PRC-origin influence operators testing narratives against AI infrastructure,” OpenAI said in the Wednesday press release on the bans.

OpenAI is a lead partner in The Stargate Project, an initiative to “invest $500 billion over the next four years building new AI infrastructure for OpenAI in the United States.”

“Why every time we announce national defense in terms of giving us compute power do we get pounded by all of these IP addresses? So these are proxies for the Chinese government is my argument,” O’Leary said in the X post. “They’re just spreading falsehoods. This is the CCP at work here. There’s no question about it.”

O’Leary Digital did not reply to a request for comment.

Utah Senate President J. Stuart Adams sent a letter to O’Leary enumerating several demands surrounding the development of his data center. O’Leary conceded to the demands, including a 75% reduction in the project’s size, wildlife protections, heat-capture technology and engineering reviews of environmental impacts, water use, infrastructure demands and long-term sustainability.

MIDA is playing a key role in the development of this data center.

“MIDA … will serve as the land use authority,” MIDA spokesperson Kristin Williams told the DCNF. “It will oversee zoning, approvals, and the project area framework, while coordinating with local and state partners. MIDA will also establish a Development Review Committee comprised of Box Elder County experts.”

Williams told the DCNF that water rights come with the land purchase, there would be no negative effects on the Great Salt Lake and no power would come from the Utah power grid.

President Donald Trump has also weighed in on the matters surrounding the quality of life of U.S. citizens who live near AI data centers.

“First up is Microsoft, who my team has been working with, and which will make major changes beginning this week to ensure that Americans don’t ‘pick up the tab’ for their POWER consumption, in the form of paying higher Utility bills,” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Jan. 12.

Trump also enacted an executive order on July 23, 2025, that rapidly accelerates AI development.

By The Numbers

Water usage is one of the biggest concerns surrounding AI data centers. A large data center can use up to 5 million gallons of water per day, equivalent to a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people, according to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute.

Data centers consumed about 4.4% of total U.S. electricity in 2023 and are expected to consume 6.7% to 12% by 2028, the Department of Energy reported on Dec. 20, 2024.

The discourse surrounding AI has captured the thoughts and minds of some of the biggest business owners in the U.S., such as BlackRock CEO Larry Fink. Fink recently expressed that he was concerned that these data centers could be targeted by domestic terrorists during a speech at Global Conference 2026 on May 5.

BlackRock has a significant financial stake in the AI infrastructure boom. The company chairs the Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Partnership, a consortium that could mobilize “up to $100 billion in total investment potential when including debt financing.”

Legislation was then proposed on June 10 that may allow for AI data centers to be armed with anti-drone weapons, including lasers, guns, nets and other devices.

O’Leary is also receiving significant tax breaks in the development of his data center in Utah, according to MIDA. Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson raised concerns about this aspect of the construction during a debate with O’Leary on May 13.

“Why should taxpayers have to pony up for that?” Carlson asked O’Leary. “They don’t,” O’Leary replied.

“But of course they do. If you, I mean, if you’re getting a tax break and they’re not, they’re making up the difference,” Carlson said. “There’s a state budget.”

Some 64% of Americans disagreed with the rapid development of AI data centers, according to a June 8 poll from Reuters and Ipsos with a margin of error of two percentage points that surveyed 4,531 U.S. adults.

Guthrie’s letter cites the Bitcoin Policy Institute and Power the Future, which released documents supporting the allegations surrounding Chinese influence on American AI.

“We realize O’Leary and his ilk can’t grasp what grassroots energy looks like, because it’s hard to spot from the window of a private jet,” Jones told the DCNF. “But the growing outrage people are feeling against Big Tech is very real indeed. O’Leary may call himself a ‘shark,’ but even sharks have predators — in this case, the American people.”