Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley has proposed a nationwide moratorium on building new data centers in the United States. Hawley included the initiative among his party’s priorities for the next six weeks as lawmakers weigh how to prevent growing electricity demand from raising household and small-business costs.

A Hawley spokesperson told Politico that the restrictions should remain in place until Congress passes legislative guarantees protecting consumers from higher electricity rates.

Hawley is the first Republican senator to publicly support a nationwide pause on data center construction. Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders and Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez previously put forward similar initiatives.

Hawley has not introduced a standalone moratorium bill or specified which facilities would be subject to the restrictions.

Power-demand concerns

Lawmakers’ concerns center on the rapid growth in electricity consumption from artificial intelligence infrastructure. Scaling AI systems requires more computing capacity, server-cooling equipment and upgrades to the power grid.

U.S. data centers consumed about 183 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2024, according to the Pew Research Center. Consumption could reach 426 terawatt-hours by 2030, more than double the 2024 level.

The additional load could increase the cost of maintaining the power system and building generation capacity. Lawmakers fear that utilities could pass some of those costs to households and small businesses.

In February 2026, Hawley and Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal introduced the GRID Act. The bill would require new data centers to obtain electricity from sources not connected to the shared grid and disclose information about their power consumption.

The moratorium proposal continues Hawley’s stated position that expanding AI infrastructure should not increase the financial burden on ordinary consumers.

Senate advances competing infrastructure measure

Other lawmakers support accelerating the development of energy infrastructure rather than pausing data center construction. On Nov. 9, 2026, the Senate voted 73-25 to advance the bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act for consideration.

The measure seeks to simplify and accelerate federal permitting for energy projects, including power plants and transmission lines. It would also require operators of large data centers to cover additional costs associated with strain on the power grid, an approach intended to balance infrastructure development with consumer protection.

President Donald Trump’s administration backs the bill. Supporters believe faster construction of energy facilities would increase electricity supply and help meet growing demand from AI companies.

Some Democrats and environmental organizations have raised concerns that the measure could weaken environmental protections and streamline approvals for projects tied to fossil fuels.

As of publication, Hawley’s moratorium remains a political proposal, while the infrastructure bill has advanced to the next stage of Senate consideration.

Separately, U.S. lawmakers previously called for a review of NVIDIA’s export licenses covering advanced AI chip shipments to China. Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Republican Sen. Jim Banks advocated tighter semiconductor export controls, citing concerns about U.S. national security.

Source: Incrypted