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In recent years, Missouri U.S. Senator Josh Hawley has emerged as a leading Republican voice against AI and data centers.
This week, he urged his fellow Senate Republicans to make legislative moves before they lose the majority in six weeks. Among his plans was a call for a moratorium on data centers—a temporary legal pause on construction, approval or expansion of data centers.
What to Know About the Controversy Surrounding AI Data Center Construction in the US
Data center moratoriums have been a hot topic in Congress this year. Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez put forward the Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act, with the support of several other Democrats.
Read More on AI
Jason Williamson, CEO of AI startup MythWorx and assistant professor of data science at the University of Virginia, said the 2026 midterms, like every election, is about the economy.
Communities across the country are feeling the impacts of data centers. Critics say the massive power demand has driven up utility costs and threatened to destroy land and pollute surrounding air and waterways. And of course the noise in some areas is unbearable. Residents also have pushed back against local leaders for lack of transparency in data center deals and want to hold tech companies accountable for promises to create jobs.
"There are a handful of opportunities for what I refer to as common sense legislation," Williamson told Newsweek. "The Republican Party absolutely needs some wins over the next two years and this will be one of them."
Why Josh Hawley Is Backing a National Moratorium on Data Centers
Hawley has been as a leading voice among his party for holding AI companies and data center developers accountable. This call to action, while aligned with his previous positions, comes in reaction to major Republican losses in swing and deep red states.
He cosponsored the Guaranteeing Rate Insulation from Data Centers (GRID) Act in February of this year along with Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. The bill is meant to prevent data centers from driving up energy costs by requiring them to have their own power source as not to pass along costs to the consumers. It would also establish new transparency measures for data centers to publicly disclose their current and future utility usage.
“American families should not have to shoulder the burden of the rising electricity costs produced by data centers in Missouri and across the country. This is unacceptable,” Hawley said in a statement at the time**.**
Hawley, who serves as chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Subcommittee on Disaster Management, also launched an investigation into OpenAI following the Hugging Face incident in July. At a Senate hearing, he pressed experts about the risk of autonomous AI agents and "who is held liable when AI goes rogue?"
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Who Could Ally With Josh Hawley on Data Center Moratorium?
Economist and AI Strategist Matt Hasan said Hawley has identified a legitimate economic problem.
"AI companies should not capture the benefits of data center expansion while passing substantial infrastructure costs onto ordinary electricity consumers. But a nationwide moratorium is a blunt and economically costly response," he told Newsweek.
Newsweek's AI Scorecard ranks all 537 members of Congress on where they stand on artificial intelligence in the following categories: Regulation & Governance, Data Centers & Energy, Jobs & the Economy, Safety & Privacy and National Security.
Hawley is currently classified as an AI skeptic, with a score of 2 out of 5 based on his public statements and legislative history. In this current Congress, Hawley has a few allies on both sides of the aisle that share his passion for AI regulation.
Roger Marshall of Kansas has been very critical of AI data centers and their impact on raising utility demands and favorable tax breaks. At an event in July, the Republican said he will "certainly support" local moratoriums, noting that "people in Kansas are on fire." Marshall currently holds a 2.3 out of 5 on the AI Scorecard.
Ohio's Jon Husted has a bit of a higher AI Scorecard rating at 3.2 out of 5, but he's been a leading Republican voice on data center checks. His proposed Ratepayer Protection Act in the Senate was recently blocked, but it would have ensured tech companies pay for power generation and infrastructure required for data center operations. President Donald Trump even said he would have signed the bill into law if it had passed.
Blumenthal, coming in just under 2 out of 5 on the AI Scorecard, has already worked with Hawley on legislation that supported stricter controls on AI tools and data center growth. While he has not publicly called for a total moratorium, he may still be willing to work on bipartisan measures for regulation.
Democratic Reverend Raphael Warnock of Georgia has also been vocal about potential moratoriums, holding a 1.7 out of 5 on the AI Scorecard. In August, he visited a proposed site for an OpenAI data center and met with local residents who were concerned about higher utility costs and pollution. After that meeting he announced his support for a statewide moratorium on data center construction, saying "data center developers across the country are not operating in partnership with communities, and that’s why everyday citizens on both sides of the aisle are rightly and equally concerned about this." Under his proposal, the moratorium would only be lifted for projects that don't increase water or electricity bills, don't cause air, water or noise pollution and don't include NDAs and sweetheart deals for developers.
Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont holds a 1.3 on the AI Scorecard and is one of the most ardent supporters of national data center moratoriums in Congress. He joined Ocasio-Cortez on the moratorium legislation earlier this year and has long been a champion of tighter governance over data centers and AI development.
After the midterms, Sanders posted on X that a majority of Americans want a data center moratorium, noting that there are "no more excuses, Democrats must deliver."
"The critical distinction is between a coalition demanding accountability and one prepared to halt construction nationally. They are not the same," Hasan said. "A better economic response would require developers to bear the incremental costs of power generation, transmission, water infrastructure and environmental mitigation, with enforceable safeguards. The challenge is to protect households without unnecessarily constraining investment, productivity growth and American technological competitiveness."
How Did AI Data Center Legislation Fare in the 2026 Midterms?
In the midterm elections, the massive wave of Democratic victories was backed by a souring public sentiment toward AI and data centers. Data center-related measures appeared on 41 ballots across 10 states and voters overwhelmingly chose more restrictions.
Some candidates who were staunchly pro-data centers loss their races. In Kansas, Republican State Senator Ty Masterson opposed a statewide moratorium and narrowly lost the gubernatorial race to Democratic State Senator Cindy Holscher.
January will usher in a new era for Congress, with Democrats controlling both chambers. This might embolden lawmakers to pursue stricter oversight on data centers, making it harder for developers to build in local communities that worry about pollution, rising costs and job loss.
Moves are already being made. A new bill, the Community Control of Data Centers Act, was introduced by Republican Representative Tim Burchett of Tennessee this week, which would require projects to comply with all applicable state and local laws before receiving federal funding.
But with only a few weeks left to take advantage of their majority rule, it's difficult to say whether Republicans will be able to do much in time. Technology moves fast. Legislation does not.
"My concern would be that we make policy today based on technology two [or] three years ago, and so that's why I feel like moratoriums aren't bad if they're done in a common sense way," Williamson said. "My hope is that the next Congress will collaborate together on that, and this is at least there's common ground."
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here. Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Samantha Beech and Edward T. Cummins
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