Innovation Council Action founder Taylor Budowich emphasized listening to communities and addressing concerns over electricity and water surrounding artificial intelligence and data-center development during a Breitbart News policy event, while arguing that good policy can help address the political challenges surrounding the issues.
Breitbart News Washington Bureau Chief Matt Boyle asked Budowich what advice he would give political operatives in either party as they consider how to discuss artificial intelligence and data centers ahead of the midterm and 2028 elections.
“You listen first, then you address the concerns,” Budowich said. “The concerns — electricity, water — are driving a lot of the conversation. We should not be draining communities. We should be powering the communities.”
“These investments, this work that’s being done, should go up to build and provide more opportunity, lower costs for people,” he continued. “And I think bad policy is informing a lot of the bad politics. I think good policy is the way to go, and there’s answers to these questions.”
Earlier in the discussion, Boyle asked Budowich what policymakers and others approaching the issue could learn from President Donald Trump’s handling of such questions.
“Well, I think we both agree there’s a lot to be learned from Donald Trump, and he oftentimes has the right instinct on many issues that are even before our time, and he’s seeing around the corner constantly,” Budowich said.
“But most importantly, he doesn’t let bad politics and a scared media dictate how he governs or how he thinks, partly because, yes, he is informed, yes, he does ask important questions, but he doesn’t let the media narrative around something drive a bad decision,” he continued. “He is willing to stand up. He’s willing to tell the good story, but the fact is that the president oftentimes is ahead of the curve, and this is an area specifically that this administration has really allowed to unleash in a way that supports the communities that we just talked about.”
Budowich pointed to commitments by large technology companies aimed at addressing electricity-cost concerns.
“You talk about the ratepayer protection pledge that many of these hyperscalers, many of these large companies came together to support that says we’re going to guarantee your electricity so your bill doesn’t go up,” Budowich said.
Budowich also pointed to the administration’s efforts to reduce regulatory barriers to energy development.
“He has unleashed Lee Zeldin at the EPA, what they’ve done for the industry and development, allowing communities to build energy resources that have long been overdue,” Budowich said.
“One of the big problems here is we’ve developed energy infrastructure. It’s doubled every decade for the last two, three decades, and it just stopped,” he continued. “We’ve stopped investing in our communities, and one of the things that the president has done by coming in and says, you know, absolutely not. What is getting in the way of that development? What’s getting in the way is red tape. What’s getting in the way is bureaucracy.”
“And Donald Trump said no more,” Budowich added. “He said we gotta win, and by winning it means winning for you. It means your electricity bill is better. It means that the development that’s happening that should be happening in the community that hasn’t been is being invested in.”
Budowich concluded, “What do we learn from Donald Trump? I think we can learn a whole lot, but you can start by…being willing to stand up and being willing to grapple with a conversation, listen to somebody, and be bold in good policy.”