Sierra National Forest  Credit: Sierra National Forest file photo

September 19, 2026 - Washington, D.C. — On Friday, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) released the following statement after The Washington Sun reported that the Trump administration is considering far more data centers on public lands than previously known:

“Donald Trump is selling out America’s public lands to the richest corporations in human history, and every American who loves these places should be furious.

“We need to pump the brakes on the reckless AI buildout, and today’s reporting adds another reason to the pile. Families are already paying higher electric bills to power data centers. Western communities are asking where the water will come from. Meanwhile, Secretary Burgum is taking meetings with the billionaire tech executives who stand to gain everything from yet another Republican public lands giveaway.

“Our Republican colleagues in Congress have fought attempts to put common-sense guardrails on AI data centers. Now we see their endgame: the Trump administration treating our shared natural heritage as a cheap, taxpayer-subsidized dumping ground for massive, energy-guzzling server farms.

“These lands belong to the American people. Democrats will fight to keep them that way.”

Source: Natural Resources Committee-Democrats