House Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans say there is “strong evidence” that foreign influence campaigns linked to China are partly fueling growing community opposition to data centers across the United States.
Committee Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) led a letter urging the Trump administration to investigate alleged efforts by foreign adversaries to slow American artificial intelligence development by stoking opposition to essential data center infrastructure.
Guthrie framed the issue in stark competitive terms, warning that the U.S. and China are locked in a direct race for global leadership in artificial intelligence technology.
“Our nation is locked in a race with China to innovate and lead the world in the development of artificial intelligence technologies,” Guthrie said in the letter, warning of the serious stakes involved.
“The fact that Chinese Communist Party-backed entities and other foreign adversaries may be attempting to influence decisions related to American data center infrastructure puts into perspective how serious of a fight we are in,” he continued.
Guthrie was joined by Reps. John Joyce of Pennsylvania and Bob Latta of Ohio in sending the letter to the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology and FBI Director Kash Patel.
The lawmakers requested a briefing by June 18 to help Congress “better understand how the Administration is investigating the foreign influence campaigns and taking action to mitigate these efforts.”
A report from right-leaning group Power The Future, cited in the letter, alleges that billionaire donors with foreign ties funnel money through networks of nonprofits and advocacy groups that have helped drive opposition to data center development nationwide.
The reports cited do not establish direct coordination between foreign governments and specific U.S. anti-data-center campaigns, but instead point to funding relationships, overlapping messaging, and ideological alignment between foreign-linked actors and some American advocacy groups.
The letter arrives as data center opposition has gained real political traction across the ideological spectrum, with the New York Legislature moving toward a one-year moratorium on certain data center developments.
Utah Senate President J. Stuart Adams has also called on a major data center project to significantly reduce its footprint, illustrating that resistance to the industry is not confined to one political constituency.
The Energy and Commerce Committee is separately considering proposals to address data center energy demand and protect utility ratepayers from rising costs tied to expanding AI infrastructure.
House appropriators recently approved a spending bill amendment directing the Department of Energy to identify and mitigate the impact of data centers on both energy supply and water resources.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) have announced plans for federal legislation that would impose a moratorium on new data center development, though that effort currently lacks significant legislative momentum.
