Democrats are trying to pin voter uproar over data centers on Republicans by spotlighting a tax provision buried in the GOP’s signature megabill last year.
“A year ago, Republicans were bragging about giving tax breaks to Big Tech in order to build data centers,” Rep. Jim McGovern said. “With November on the horizon, some House Republicans are acting as if they did not turbocharge the data center buildout.”
Democrats are hoping their messaging not only drives a wedge in the deepening Republican divide over data centers, but also undercuts GOP attempts to trumpet their One Big Beautiful Bill Act as a crowning legislative achievement ahead of the midterms.
The fresh line of attack zeroes in on the “Opportunity Zone” tax credit program — an initiative designed to boost growth in areas deemed underdeveloped, which, at one point after the megabill’s passage, Republicans had touted as a way to spur the construction of data centers.
President Donald Trump’s Monday post calling for Americans to “let Data Reign” gave Democrats their latest opening to strike a contrast, as Republicans struggle to bridge Trump’s unwavering support with their own constituents’ concerns.
Poll after poll shows growing frustrations with the centers throughout the country, including in key House and Senate races necessary for the GOP to hold onto its majorities.
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in a news conference this week accused House Republicans of voting to “unleash data centers on the American people in an unfettered fashion.”
Rep. David Valadao of California, for example, has found himself under scrutiny for his vote on the 2025 megabill, but pushed back on Democrats’ strategy.
“I mean, obviously there are local concerns that need to be addressed,” Valadao said in an interview, but added of Democrats’ attacks that, “trying to use something that a lot of people would argue is important for national security or national security interests as a political weapon sounds pretty irresponsible.”
House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith, who oversaw the expansion of the tax credits in the law, called Democrats’ narrative a “huge stretch.”
“Opportunity Zones control, like, everything — from child daycare centers to manufacturers. Can data centers be used in them? Yes. But so can everything else,” Smith said.
An analysis from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition published this month figures 14 percent of data centers are in Opportunity Zones, while 17 percent of those in the works are similarly situated.
Some Republicans, nonetheless, have been pressing Speaker Mike Johnson on whether leadership has plans to put any data center-related legislation on the floor in the next month, but have received no commitments.
What else we’re watching:
— TRUMP PROMISES MIDTERM HELP: Trump on Wednesday told a group of embattled Republicans he’s coming to help. Trump told a group of GOP lawmakers at the White House he’ll campaign for about 35 of them in the final month ahead of the midterms. “We’re going to take that final 30 days, you don’t want to go too much before that because people forget,” the president said, adding that he will rely on Johnson to supply names where the Republican is tied, losing or winning by a small margin.
— HOUSE DEMS WATCH JEFFRIES ON ROGUE MEMBERS: Rank-and-file House Democrats are watching closely to see if Jeffries will follow through on reining in rogue members who helped bail Republicans out of a nearly failed agenda this week. Many are hoping their leaders send a message to Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Jared Golden that such tactics won’t be tolerated in a future majority. Some have privately suggested kicking Gluesenkamp Perez off of her role on Appropriations, while others have cautioned against overpolicing.
Kelsey Brugger, Brian Faler, Alex Gangitano, Riley Rogerson and Mia McCarthy contributed to this report.
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