Trump calls New York pause on AI data centres ‘terrible decision’

WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump criticised New York governor Kathy Hochul for announcing a temporary ban on data centres, calling it a “terrible decision” and urging the state to change its decision immediately.

“Both the Taxes and the Jobs amount to LIQUID GOLD!” he wrote in a post on Truth Social. “Data Centres are tremendous WINS for the States and Communities that are lucky enough to get them.”

The governor’s executive order announced on July 14 pauses environmental permits on new large data centres for up to one year while the state develops a framework for regulating facilities to prevent them from hiking utility bills and affecting water supply.

Hochul responded on social media to Trump’s post, saying “the communities powering AI should share in its success.”

“If data centres are really “LIQUID GOLD,” then New Yorkers deserve more than scraps,” she said.

New York ranks fifth in the US for the number of currently operating data centres with 148, according to an April Pew Research report.

The US has more than 3,000 operational data centres with another 1,500 in development, the report said.

The energy-hungry data centres are sending power costs to records across much of the country, sparking backlash among strained consumers.

In the Buffalo, New York, area, wholesale energy prices jumped 197 per cent in 2025 from five years before, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Hochul wants to use the moratorium to address frustration among communities over energy costs and provide clear regulation for companies, she said in an interview for Bloomberg’s Odd Lots podcast.

“I understand how important AI is,” she said in the interview on July 14. “We are in a revolution. The winds of change are coming in at hurricane force, and it’s disruptive, but it’ll also be very positive.”

Hedge fund billionaire Dan Loeb also blasted Hochul’s order in a post on social media, calling it the “stupidest move” since local opposition contributed to Amazon.com Inc scrapping plans to build a second headquarters in the state.

Hochul has been fielding concerns by the business community, including financial firm owners like Third Point LLC’s Loeb, that New York is growing increasingly unfriendly to large corporations.

While she seeks to attract more business to New York, she faces reelection in November and constituents who are concerned about the impact of data centres on their communities.

In 2019, Amazon dropped its expansion plans in the Long Island City neighbourhood of Queens after it met heavy resistance from local officials and residents, including from representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who criticised a promised US$3 billion (S$3.87 billion) in tax incentives and raised concerns about the impact on the already strained public transportation system.

The ban is the “stupidest move since @AOC single-handedly shut down the proposed Amazon fulfillment center in Queens,” Loeb said in a post on X.

“Way to turn away billions in investment and sending 1000s more jobs to red states.” BLOOMBERG