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This exchange with Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA10), who represents the district with the most data centers (by far?) in the country, really showcases how the politics of data centers have shifted over the past year or so. I mean, a year ago, during the 2025 Virginia governor’s campaign, we barely heard about data centers (in the exit polling and final CNU poll, they weren’t even in the top 5 or even top 12 issues voters cared about!). A year later…VERY different. What changed exactly? Hard to say, exactly, but it appears that some sort of “tipping point” was reached, in which the public shifted SHARPLY from supporting having a data center near where they live (43% support vs. 42% opposed in August 2025) to strongly OPPOSED to having a data center near where they live just 15% support vs. 75% opposed now!!!). So not surprisingly, politicians who were supportive of data centers for years, until very recently, have begun to shift rapidly along with public opinion on this issue. And you can really see that in the following exchange with Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, which “has THE most data centers of anywhere in the United States of America.” Check it out.
NewsNation: “Your district has the most data centers of anywhere in the United States of America…You’re a Democrat who’s pro-tech; Barack Obama tapped you way back when to be a part of his policy team. I wonder what you make of Josh Shapiro, the Governor of Pennsylvania…last year when he was involved in an AI summit in which he embraced data centers…a much different position than he’s taking now. Last year, he said, quote, obviously there’s a difference between what someone says in a press release today and when going the ground in the future. I want to see all of these dollars come to Pennsylvania. He signed an executive order that the Philadelphia Inquirer described as a major shift in a far-reaching policy. Why do you think he flipped?”
Rep. Subramanyam: “You can embrace AI and you can understand the need for data centers and even want them in certain communities in your state, while also understanding that the way they’re deploying data centers right now is predatory. It’s all about short-term profits. And its steamrolling communities. That’s what’s happening in my community right now.”
NewsNation: “Do you want them out of your community?”
Rep. Subramanyam: “Well, you can’t really airlift a data center out of it. We already have more than every other country in the world except three. So at this point, we are a cautionary tale for others. But we’re certainly standing up against more. What they need to do is have a national data center plan where we’re citing them in places where the communities want it, where there’s power, where it makes more sense. It doesn’t make sense to put 300 data centers in one county, right, for instance. That makes no sense. It’s a security issue. It’s an issue for our power grid. It doesn’t make any sense. What we need to do is make sure that we’re doing this in a sensible way.”
NewsNation: “Do you think, as I mentioned your background, which as pro-tech of a Democrat as anyone that you’ll find. Do you think by 2028, Congressman, there will be a single Democrat at the national level who will support data centers?”
Rep. Subramanyam: “Absolutely. The reality is if we want to grow and develop some of these emerging technologies like AI and others, we will need more data storage and data centers is a part of that. What we don’t need is data centers to be steamrolling communities and being put in places that don’t want them. That is a big problem in and of itself. And so we need to fix this problem. People talk about the issue with China, but honestly people who are seeing their utility bills double and triple don’t care about the race against China. We’re gonna lose that race, because 70% of Americans now don’t want data centers in their community.”
NewsNation: “You think the race with China will be lost?”
Rep. Subramanyam: “If we continue to do what we’re doing on data centers, yes it will be lost.”
NewsNation: “And that doesn’t worry you?”
Rep. Subramanyam: “It worries me every single day. That’s why I’m out here trying to make us do more sensible policies when it comes to data centers. So if we continue making…the comunities pay for the infrastructure for those data centers, that’s a big problem, right? And communities are not going to want them, and we’re not going to be building them the way that we would need to.”
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By the way, I agree with Rep. Subramanyam, who was a technology policy advisor in Barack Obama’s administration; nobody likes data centers, obviously, except that they DO like all the services data centers provide. Just for “fun,” if you feel like it, Google the question, “What would happen if we got rid of data centers”; the response (appropriately – or maybe ironically? – produced by AI) is: “Without data centers, the modern digital economy would instantly collapse. The internet would lose its backbone, shutting down websites, cloud storage, streaming services, and online banking. Global communication, business operations, and emergency services would grind to a halt as digital data became inaccessible…Transportation stops…Utilities fail…Healthcare crisis.” So…yeah, we can’t just “get rid of data centers,” because at this point, huge swaths of the economy, power grid, healthcare system, etc. rely on them. Also, of course, data centers bring in massive revenues for localities like Loudoun County. BUT, having said all that, we need strong regulations on these things – water and power usage, siting, noise, etc, etc. – and we ALSO need strong regulations on AI, like immediately! So to an extent, the “freakout” against data centers might have come about suddenly, for no apparent reason, but maybe it’s just that a whole host of legitimate concerns/anxieties have suddenly come together and resulted in what we’re seeing in terms of public opinion on this issue? Regardless, politicians are going to have to deal with this issue, because it’s not likely to go away…
