Washington, D.C. — Many Republican members of Congress have conveniently started campaigning on a platform of deferring to local officials when it comes to making decisions about the construction of new artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.
But a new report from the Center for American Progress Action Fund shows how these same Republicans have flip-flopped on the issue. Last year, they supported legislation that would have prevented local control over limiting or restricting AI data centers.
An early version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) passed by the House in 2025 included a 10-year moratorium on all state and local AI laws and regulations that might limit, restrict, or regulate AI generally. It would have stripped state and local governments of their ability to establish guardrails against the proliferation of AI data centers that harm residents, but that language was ultimately deleted from the legislation before final passage.
The report focuses on Republican members of Congress from Arizona, Iowa, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin who are now touting “local control” for data centers. These same lawmakers all voted to take away state and local governments’ ability to limit or restrict AI data centers when they cast their vote for the House’s version of the OBBBA that contained the state and local AI moratorium.
“Americans deserve to know the truth,” said Adam Conner, vice president for Technology Policy at CAP Action and author of the report. “These House Republicans would have tied the hands of state and local governments seeking to govern AI data centers and are flip-flopping now that public opposition to data centers has grown.”
Read the report: “Almost Every House Republican Voted To Block State and Local Governments’ Ability To Protect Residents from AI Data Centers” by Adam Conner
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Sam Hananel at [email protected].