Hochul Hits Pause on AI Data Centers, Trump Fires Back

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signed an executive order putting a one-year freeze on new hyperscale data centers - the massive facilities powering artificial intelligence. The move makes New York the first state in the nation to enact such a moratorium, and it has drawn sharp criticism from President Donald Trump.

Trump took to Truth Social to call the decision "terrible," accusing Hochul of playing politics and urging her to scrap the policy immediately. "One of the biggest Driving Forces in the Future for Jobs, are Data Centers," he wrote. "They are big, strong, bold, and Money Machines for the State in which they are built." Hochul defended the pause, saying it gives regulators time to craft standards addressing the facilities' heavy demands on the energy grid, water supplies, and local environments. "This pause will remain in place for up to one year while New York establishes the strongest possible framework to protect our community's guardrails," she said.

The president, who has pushed a deregulatory agenda on AI, also took a surprising stance: he said data centers should pay for their own power and water rather than relying on tax breaks. He warned that New York's policy would drive jobs and investment to other states - and even to China. The backlash against data centers is growing nationally. A recent Heatmap poll found nearly three-quarters of Americans oppose having one built near their homes. More than a dozen states have considered similar moratoriums, and Seattle approved a one-year ban in June. The fight over where - and how - to build the infrastructure for the AI boom is only getting started.

Source: The Guardian