Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) used Democrats’ midterm wins Wednesday to renew his call for a national moratorium on artificial intelligence data centers, a push the industry says will only move demand overseas.
Democrats Push for a Halt to AI Buildout
“Americans don’t want Big Tech oligarchs wrecking the environment, gutting jobs and threatening humanity’s future,” Sanders said in a post on X, pointing to 43 of 44 communities that voted for a local moratorium Tuesday.
The senator, along with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), announced the AI Data Center Moratorium Act in March, which would pause construction until national safeguards protect workers, civil liberties and the environment.
“NATIONAL DATA CENTER MORATORIUM NOW,” Sanders added.
Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) also called on Democrats to make a pause on advanced AI development, regulation of an “out of control industry” and a “ban on artificial superintelligence” their day-one agenda.
Demand Won’t Disappear
Futurum Group CEO Daniel Newman said that large semiconductor and infrastructure CEOs told him that if the U.S. build slows, demand outside the U.S. is “more than sufficient.”
Forecasts remain intact, he said, and “location is now fungible.”
Texas Puts Data Centers in the Spotlight
In Texas, Democrat Gina Hinojosa, who defeated Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, has called for a moratorium on new data centers until lawmakers put in place “real protections.”
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX) CEO Elon Musk reacted to the midterm results with a renewed pitch for space-based data centers, saying they are “looking pretty appealing right now.”
To ease opposition to AI data centers, President Donald Trump urged developers last month to pay host communities a “dividend.”
Price Action: On Wednesday, shares of CoreWeave Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWV), which builds and runs AI data centers, fell 9.90% to close at $48.42 and lost 1.32% in extended trading.
Benzinga Edge rankings indicate CoreWeave’s stock has a Momentum score in the 2nd percentile, with negative price trends across the short, medium, and long term.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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