Trump’s Plan to Make Data Centers Pay Their Own Power Bills Clears a Big Senate Vote, 73–25

President Trump asked the Senate to vote yes on his energy bill. On Monday, 73 senators did.

The Senate voted 73 to 25 to start debate on the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, a bill that would make it faster to build power plants, power lines, pipelines and mines, and make the giant data centers behind the SI boom pay for the grid upgrades they need, CNBC reported.

It was the Senate’s first major action since last week’s election, the AP noted. Trump has endorsed the package. On Sunday night he told Americans to “Call your Senator TODAY, and tell them to vote YES.”

What Monday’s vote did, and didn’t do

This wasn’t final passage. Monday’s vote cleared the way for the Senate to begin debating the bill, the first of several votes. But a 73-vote margin is a strong sign of support in a chamber where 60 votes are usually needed to move anything.

Why it matters to your power bill

Data centers, the warehouse-sized buildings full of computers that run SI, use enormous amounts of electricity. When utilities build new lines and plants to serve them, those costs can land on everyone’s bill. This bill would require large data centers to pay more of the costs of the grid upgrades needed to serve them, according to Reuters.

It would also cut the red tape that keeps projects waiting for years. The bill rewrites parts of the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act to speed up reviews, CNBC reported, and sets new limits on how long lawsuits and reviews can drag on, according to Axios.

Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican backing the bill, said on 𝕏 that it “will blast energy prices down for American families.”

Who’s against it

Some environmental groups and tribes still oppose it. The National Congress of American Indians urged Congress on Monday to stop the bill, saying it would weaken tribal sovereignty and protections for sacred sites, Reuters reported. Weekend changes added tribal consultation requirements and a new Energy Department program to help communities deal with data centers.

What happens next

More Senate votes are coming this week, with what Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse called a “very healthy amendment process,” per Axios. If it passes the Senate, it heads to the House, where Trump’s endorsement is likely to help it get a vote, CNBC reported.