Republicans hit crunch time on data centers

GOP wrestles with data center backlash weeks ahead of midterms

Republicans are growing increasingly worried that data centers are a liability in the midterms, as concerns over higher power bills tied to the facilities turn into a pocketbook issue for voters.

The debate over the issue was on full display Wednesday, after Senate Democrats blocked legislation championed by Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio) — who is in a competitive reelection bid against former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) — that would require states and some electric utilities to consider a standard under which data centers would have to pay for additional costs caused by their large power demand.

The stalled legislation puts Republicans in a political bind as they seek to address voter concerns over data centers while navigating the White House’s embrace of the facilities.

President Trump touted data centers during a meeting with tech CEOs on Tuesday, saying they “are going to be very popular.”

Lawmakers are poised to take a second crack at seeking to ensure data center energy costs aren’t passed down to consumers, but it likely won’t be taken up until after the November elections.

And for Republicans in particular, the White House’s stance only compounds that political challenge as the GOP seeks to retain its majority in November.

“I just think that when the president weighs in on something and says something … has to be good, or ‘We all are going to like them’ — that muddles things a little bit, right?” GOP strategist Amy Koch said. “It’s hard to be nuanced with a president who has no nuance.”

The Hill’s Sudiksha Koshi has more in a full report .

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Khanna asks AI firms for information on efforts by China to access code

The leading Democrat on the House’s China Select Committee is calling on the U.S.’s leading AI labs for information on Beijing’s alleged efforts to steal model weights from their firms. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), the ranking member of the House Select Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, requested data on Thursday from OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta and Alphabet, the parent company of Google, expressing concerns …

FTC launches probe into OpenAI, Anthropic over model consumer risks

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has opened an investigation into AI firms OpenAI and Anthropic over the potential dangers their models pose to consumers. The probe, confirmed by an FTC spokesperson, follows months of warnings about the growing cybersecurity and safety risks associated with AI models. OpenAI and Anthropic in recent months revealed multiple incidents of AI agents accessing other information and data systems …

California attorney general subpoenas OpenAI over cyber incidents

California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) said Thursday he served OpenAI with a subpoena as part of a probe into cybersecurity incidents involving the ChatGPT maker. Bonta previously opened an investigation into the company after its AI agents hacked into the tech startup Hugging Face. But he said the recent subpoena was part of a broader inquiry into cyber incidents related to OpenAI. “Frontier models can be legitimate tools …

News we’ve flagged from t he intersection of tech and other topics:

Broadcom to lend Anthropic up to $42 billion to lease its chips (Reuters)

Inside a billionaire’s paradise with crypto’s most powerful ex-convict ( The New York Times )

Trump meme coin invites top buyers to ‘exclusive’ gala with president

The firm managing President Trump’s “$Trump” coin announced it would be hosting an “exclusive” gala for the top 185 holders of the coin, featuring the president as a speaker.

“An evening with 3 Legends and President Donald J. Trump — plus a private meet & greet with a legend to be announced,” the description of the event read, adding that “no attendees will be granted a private meet & greet with the President.”

Trump’s meme coin website said the gala is planned for Nov. 22 at Trump National Golf Club in Washington with the “3 legends” expected to be announced before the event.

The webpage also included that the top 29 qualifying holders are eligible for an exclusive “VIP Reception” at the gala “with your favorite President and one of the Legends.”

A disclaimer in smaller font below stated, “there will be no private meetings with the President. No gifts will be accepted.”

A “TRUMP 18 [karat] Gold Watch” is promised for the top 4 holders of “ $Trump ” meme coin.

In order to be eligible to attend, individuals must rank above 186th place on a leaderboard when the eligibility window ends on Nov. 12.

T he website stated that a user’s scoring will climb “the longer you hold” but warned that if an individual dumped all of their $Trump coin, “you drop off all active leaderboards.”

The Hill’s Mira Bhakta has the full report.

Crypto Corner is a daily feature focused on digital currency and its outlook in Washington.

Branch out with other reads on The Hill:

10-year Treasury yields hit 24-year high

The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond hit a 24-year high during Thursday trading, forecasting higher borrowing costs for Americans. The 10-year bond yield topped 5.34 percent early Thursday morning, the note’s highest mark since April 2002. That month, the yield reached a closing peak of 5.48 percent. The note has since decreased to roughly 5.32 percent as of midmorning Thursday but remains up by about 3 basis points …

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