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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Tom Perkins

‘A perfect, wild storm’: widely loathed datacenters see little US political opposition

people hold signs against a data center
Residents rally against a data center planned on southeast Michigan farm land in Saline on 1 December 2025. Photograph: Jim West/UCG/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

In late October, an unlikely coalition formed to fiercely oppose controversial plans for more than a dozen Michigan datacenters – rightwing “Stop the Steal” activists joined forces with groups like the Democratic Socialists of America, and people of all political stripes in between.

Polling showed just 28% of residents supported new datacenters, and, amid the furor, Dylan Wegela, a Michigan state congressman, introduced a bill to repeal datacenter tax credits. Despite an opportunity for what looked like an easy political win, the bill has few co-sponsors, is unlikely to move in the state house, and most datacenter plans are poised to be built.

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