President Donald Trump’s high-tech moonshot could hit a Texas-sized velocity bump — and it’s coming from his personal celebration.
Trump’s AI initiative, dubbed “Stargate,” goals to construct 20 ultra-powerful knowledge facilities throughout the nation. Backed by heavyweights like OpenAI, Oracle, SoftBank, and the UAE-funded MGX, the undertaking represents a $500 billion wager on the longer term with Texas chosen as floor zero for the primary 10 facilities.
However a brand new Texas invoice, Senate Invoice 6, might delay or derail that momentum.
The laws provides a six-month regulatory evaluation on prime of an current 6–18-month timeline, whereas additionally requiring new charges and necessary backup mills, doubling approval time and inflating prices.
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President Donald Trump speaks within the Roosevelt Room of the White Home whereas SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, Oracle co-founder, CTO and Government Chairman Larry Ellison, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman look on on January 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Photos)
And whereas the laws is pitched as a safeguard in opposition to one other Winter Storm Uri-style blackout, Trump allies warn it might torpedo a generational alternative.
“This invoice can be a severe roadblock to the president’s imaginative and prescient,” stated Vance Ginn, president of Ginn Financial Consulting and former chief economist on the White Home Workplace of Administration and Funds throughout Trump’s first time period, in an unique interview with Fox Information Digital.
“It’s a misguided effort that’s rooted in worry: worry of vitality shortage, worry of AI, worry of the longer term.”
Based on Ginn, the invoice’s hefty necessities, together with a $100,000 grid connection charge and a so-called “kill swap” that will let the Electrical Reliability Council of Texas minimize energy to knowledge facilities, might find yourself pushing these billion-dollar tasks out of Texas solely.
“These firms aren’t simply utilizing vitality,” Ginn stated. “A lot of them truly put extra electrical energy again onto the grid. So as an alternative of wounding Texas, they assist stabilize it.”
Stargate has already damaged floor in Abilene, however the subsequent 10 knowledge facilities are nonetheless up within the air. If Texas turns into too expensive or sophisticated, consultants warn the again half of the undertaking would possibly by no means occur — whilst rival states like Wyoming and Tennessee court docket companies with out Texas’s infrastructure.
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“The Texas legislature needs to be working in lockstep with President Trump to construct out AI infrastructure, not throwing up limitations,” Ginn added. “The AI revolution is right here. If Texas fumbles this, it should fall behind.”
The invoice’s sponsor, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, insists the laws gained’t damage Trump’s agenda. “Senate Invoice 6 truly ensures President Trump’s Stargate Plan is successful,” Patrick stated in a press release. “We’re in lockstep with the president on his aim to make America primary, and dominate China on AI, knowledge facilities, and cryptocurrency.”
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (R), accompanied by U.S. President Donald Trump, speaks throughout a information convention within the Roosevelt Room of the White Home on January 21, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Photos)
Even with a Trump endorsement for Patrick’s re-election, Trump-aligned economists say the state is enjoying a harmful sport.
“We’re already seeing indicators of this,” Ginn warned. “Microsoft has pulled again on tasks. Buyers are nervous. And in the meantime, China’s forging forward.”
A Chinese language startup referred to as DeepSeek has made headlines for rolling out cutting-edge AI fashions in file time, triggering contemporary nervousness about America’s standing within the international AI arms race.
Trump introduced an funding in synthetic intelligence (AI) infrastructure and took questions on a variety of subjects. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Photos)
“This isn’t nearly innovation,” Ginn stated. “That is nationwide safety. If we’re six months behind China, we could by no means catch up.”
Trump has backed up his AI push with exhausting coverage, together with a ten% blanket tariff on all imports and a steep 125% tariff on Chinese language items, introduced simply final week. However these tariffs might additionally elevate the value of key knowledge heart elements, from metal to electrical transformers.
Regardless of the tradeoffs, the Trump administration sees Stargate as a cornerstone of Twenty first-century American management in every little thing from training to healthcare.
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“Texas needs to be main,” Ginn stated. “We will’t let worry of the unknown maintain us again.”
