Meta Warns US Midterm Backlash Could Slow Data Center Expansion
President Dina Powell McCormick says local opposition could make new projects harder to secure despite Meta's rising AI investments.
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Meta Platforms President Dina Powell McCormick has warned that the US midterm election results could make it harder to build new data centers, as opposition to large AI infrastructure projects gains political ground.
Speaking at The Wall Street Journal’s WSJ Tech conference on Wednesday, November 4, Powell McCormick said the technology industry had failed to adequately explain the benefits of its investments to local communities.
“We have not done as good a job as we needed to explain the benefits of these investments,” she said, according to TechCrunch.
She linked opposition to data centers to wider public concerns about artificial intelligence, describing the facilities as the most visible physical manifestation of the technology.
“The visible sort of manifestation of AI is a data center, and it’s something that people can say, ‘I don’t want this in my community,’” she said.
Her comments followed midterm contests in which opposition to data-center development featured prominently in several local campaigns.
Powell McCormick said securing approval for new facilities would become harder, although communities were more receptive when projects delivered clear economic benefits.
She cited arrangements in which developers cover their electricity costs, employ local workers and direct additional tax revenue toward schools and emergency services.
Meta’s warning comes as the company commits record spending to its AI infrastructure.
In its latest earnings report, Meta forecast 2026 capital expenditure of $135 billion to $145 billion, including principal payments on finance leases.
The company is developing several US data centers with planned capacity of at least 1 gigawatt each.
Its El Paso, Texas, campus is designed to reach 1 gigawatt of compute capacity and represents an investment of more than $10 billion, according to Meta. The company expects the site to begin bringing capacity online in 2028.
Powell McCormick said communities were more likely to support projects when developers paid for their own electricity needs, created local jobs and directed tax benefits toward services such as schools and first responders.
She also said new projects could face greater scrutiny over whether residents actually want them.
That creates a new constraint for companies racing to secure the power and computing capacity needed for AI. Meta is among the largest spenders in the sector and recently said it expects to fund its infrastructure expansion through operating cash flow, debt, strategic partnerships and equity.
Nevertheless, the political resistance adds another obstacle for technology companies competing for electricity, land and computing capacity. Even developers with substantial financial resources must now contend with communities increasingly questioning the benefits of hosting AI infrastructure.
