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Some Republicans are hoping they can address voters’ affordability concerns before the election — potentially by passing a data center power bill to demonstrate the party is listening to souring popular sentiment surrounding AI infrastructure.
The House is set to take up the bill, called the Ratepayer Protection Act, this week, which will help vulnerable incumbents answer voters’ concerns about data centers. If the Senate takes it up, the bill would help endangered Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio.
But the body has other priorities: The Senate is scheduled to take up the crypto market structure bill and a huge bipartisan college sports bill as soon as this week.
There’s a faction of Republicans who’d rather concentrate on deregulatory rollbacks and addressing AI’s impact on utility bills; Republicans will try and sort it out this week in party meetings.
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Most Senate denizens expect Tuesday’s crypto bill to fail given the standoff over new ethics rules governing President Donald Trump and his family. The Protect College Sports Act has better prospects and could receive a vote as early as this week.
Members of both parties are optimistic about the college sports bill despite Democrats’ filibuster leverage, and one of the bill’s wealthy benefactors is trying to make sure it stays front and center. Saving College Sports, a group founded by Texas Tech University System Board of Regents Chair Cody Campbell, is spending an additional $300,000 on ads between Monday and Tuesday on programs watched closely by lawmakers, including on Fox News, MS NOW and CNN, according to a person familiar with the plans.
If the bill advances on the Senate floor, it could take a significant amount of time to process — especially if there’s a protracted amendment fight. That would threaten to eat into the limited three-week work session before the midterm elections, limiting other legislative action; Senate Republicans also wanted to confirm Trump’s judicial nominees and Keith Sonderling, his new pick for Labor secretary.
Senate Republicans are also coordinating with the House about deregulatory rollbacks they might be able to accomplish this month. The House is scheduled to take up two California environmental disapproval resolutions this week — members’ last week in town before they break ahead of the midterms.
By taking the lead on the data center power bill, House Republicans could provide some political cover for that bill’s sponsor, purple-district Rep. Gabe Evans, R-Colo.
The House is also set to vote on a Senate-passed bill named for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., that would ratchet up pressure on Russia by penalizing its trading partners, though many House Democrats are expected to oppose it because of concerns about handing over more tariff authority to Trump.