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PoliticsActive today · day 5

Senate nears permitting reform deal amid data-center backlash risk

Bipartisan senators say they're closer than ever to an energy permitting bill, but polling shows data centers are politically toxic.

newest coverage 10h agosummary written 4d ago23 pieces21 likes & upvotes NewswiresMastodonGoogle News

What to know

  • A bipartisan Senate group says it is closer than ever to a permitting reform deal, driven partly by surging power demand from tech's data center expansion.
  • Polling shows data centers are a "toxic" subject for voters across party lines, forcing lawmakers to avoid framing the bill around them.
  • Trump has signaled he'd stop blocking renewable projects to attract Democratic votes, but some Democrats doubt the administration will follow through in practice.
  • A prior attempt, the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024, failed to reach a full Senate vote, underscoring how hard past efforts have been to close.

“I appreciate very much what the Trump administration has done to move in this direction, but in order to brief colleagues on what this really means, we nee…”

Unnamed Senate Democrat, Senator quoted in Grist report · Grist ↗ · Sep 23

Marsha BlackburnMarsha Blackburn Republican senator, TennesseeAlex Lundry President, Redbud ConsultingDonald TrumpDonald Trump PresidentSenate Democrats Negotiating bloc in permitting reform talks

Senate nears permitting reform deal amid data-center backlash risk
Grist

How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts

Peak 2 pieces in two hours at Sep 24, 2 PM; 23 pieces over 5 days (2 articles · 21 posts) Sep 24, 10 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Google News 1Sep 24, 12 PM — quietSep 24, 2 PM — 2 pieces · 1 article · 1 post — Mastodon 1, Newswires 1Sep 24, 4 PM — quietSep 24, 6 PM — quietSep 24, 8 PM — quietSep 24, 10 PM — quietSep 25, 12 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 25, 2 AM — 2 pieces · 2 posts — Mastodon 2Sep 25, 4 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 25, 6 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 25, 8 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 25, 10 AM — 2 pieces · 2 posts — Mastodon 2Sep 25, 12 PM — quietSep 25, 2 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 25, 4 PM — quietSep 25, 6 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 25, 8 PM — quietSep 25, 10 PM — quietSep 26, 12 AM — quietSep 26, 2 AM — quietSep 26, 4 AM — quietSep 26, 6 AM — quietSep 26, 8 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 26, 10 AM — quietSep 26, 12 PM — quietSep 26, 2 PM — quietSep 26, 4 PM — quietSep 26, 6 PM — quietSep 26, 8 PM — quietSep 26, 10 PM — quietSep 27, 12 AM — quietSep 27, 2 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 27, 4 AM — quietSep 27, 6 AM — quietSep 27, 8 AM — quietSep 27, 10 AM — quietSep 27, 12 PM — quietSep 27, 2 PM — quietSep 27, 4 PM — quietSep 27, 6 PM — quietSep 27, 8 PM — quietSep 27, 10 PM — quietYesterday, 12 AM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — quietYesterday, 4 AM — 2 pieces · 2 posts — Mastodon 2Yesterday, 6 AM — quietYesterday, 8 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Yesterday, 10 AM — 2 pieces · 2 posts — Mastodon 2Yesterday, 12 PM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 4 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Yesterday, 6 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Yesterday, 8 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Yesterday, 10 PM — quietToday, 12 AM — quietToday, 2 AM — quietToday, 4 AM — quietToday, 6 AM — quiet 1
Sep 25Sep 26Sep 27yesterdaynow · 7:16 AM ET
  1. 1

    Grist reports data centers are politically "toxic" with voters

    Polling cited by Redbud Consulting's Alex Lundry shows Democrats, Republicans, and independents strongly oppose data centers in their communities, putting reelection-minded legislators in a bind over how to frame the bill.

    “If you phrase permitting reform as serving data centers, the polling results get way worse…”
    — Alex Lundry
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  2. background

    Trump signals flexibility on renewables to court Democrats — President Trump indicates he would stop blocking renewable energy projects in an effort to bring Democrats toward a deal, though some Democrats worry the administration could still obstruct renewables in practice even if the law changes.

  3. background

    Bipartisan senators near a permitting reform deal — The top members of the Senate's two energy-related committees are negotiating bill language, with lawmakers from both parties saying growing power demand has given the effort more momentum than any previous attempt.

  4. background

    Blackburn presses for permitting reform — Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn argues in a press release that outdated federal permitting is blocking infrastructure needed to meet surging energy demand.

  5. background

    Prior permitting reform attempt dies in Senate — The Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 made it out of committee but never received a full Senate vote, leaving the issue unresolved.

What people are saying 17 voices from 1 site · best of 20 · verbatim