Trump blasts New York Gov. Hochul over AI data center moratorium
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and U.S. President Donald Trump.
David Dee Delgado | Reuters | Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
President Donald Trump slammed New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s new data center moratorium on Wednesday, saying in a Truth Social post that the state should change its policy “IMMEDIATELY” after it became the first in the U.S. to impose a ban of its kind.
“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. Governor Kathy Hochul, for political reasons, has terminated all Data Centers being built, or to be built, in New York State.”
The new state executive order, signed by the governor Tuesday, bars for up to a year the construction of large-scale data centers that use 50 or more megawatts of power.
“New York State has made a terrible decision,” Trump wrote Wednesday.
A national backlash has grown around data center fresh water and power consumption, as utility prices continue rising while artificial intelligence demand booms, fueling a breakneck infrastructure buildout.
“As data center development threatens to hike up utility bills, deplete our natural resources, and create uncertainty for New Yorkers, it’s my responsibility to take action and lead,” Hochul said in a press release announcing the moratorium.
Concerns over how data centers could shoulder their own power costs have been making the rounds ahead of the midterm elections, as Democrats take aim at affordability issues and residents’ anger about the new builds lingers.
Trump’s post also urged that data centers “must pay” for their own water and power, with any leftover going back to state and local communities.
Hochul responded to the president with her own post, on X.
“We hit pause because the communities powering AI should share in its success,” Hochul said. “Maybe that’s a novel concept in Washington. We call it doing our job.”
