Trump bombarded New York State data center moratorium as “extremely bad” and urged the governor to immediately rescind the policy

The Zhitong Finance App learned that US President Trump publicly criticized New York Governor Kathy Hochul's decision to suspend approval for the construction of large data centers on Wednesday, calling this policy “a bad decision” and urging New York State to immediately lift the relevant ban. The dispute between the two sides over artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure construction and energy costs has further escalated.

Trump posted on social media on the same day that the data center can not only bring in tax revenue, but also create a large number of employment opportunities, and is an important investment project that all states are scrambling to attract. Trump said, “Taxes and employment opportunities can be called 'flowing gold'. This will be a huge win for states and communities lucky enough to introduce data centers.”

On Tuesday local time, Hochul signed an executive order announcing that New York State will suspend the approval of environmental permits for the construction of large-scale data centers for up to one year. While the ban is in place, the state government will develop a new regulatory framework to address issues such as the rapid expansion of data centers that may drive up electricity prices for residents and increase water pressure.

In response, Hochul later said on social media that communities that undertake infrastructure construction required for AI development should also share the results of AI industry development. “If data centers are really 'flowing gold', then New Yorkers deserve more, not just a few piecemeal benefits,” she said.

According to data released by the Pew Research Center in April this year, up to now, New York State has 148 operating data centers, ranking fifth in the US. Currently, more than 3,000 data centers are in operation across the US, and about 1,500 more are under construction.

However, as demand for AI computing power grows rapidly, the huge demand for electricity in data centers also continues to drive up energy costs, causing more and more residents and local governments to worry. The data shows that wholesale electricity prices in 2025 in the Buffalo area of New York rose 197% compared to five years ago.

In an interview earlier, Hochul said that the introduction of the moratorium was not against the AI industry, but rather hoped to respond to community concerns about rising energy prices and establish a more clear and reasonable data center supervision system. She said, “I understand the importance of AI; we are in the midst of a technological revolution. This change is sweeping through like a hurricane and will have an impact, but ultimately it will also have a positive impact.”

The New York State decision has also drawn criticism from business people. Dan Loeb, founder of the US hedge fund Third Point, posted on social media that this policy was the “most foolish decision” in New York in recent years, and even compared it to Amazon (AMZN.US) abandoning the construction of a second headquarters in Queens, New York in 2019.

Loeb believes the policy will cause New York to lose billions of dollars of investment and shift thousands of jobs to other states in the US.

According to the report, Huo Chu has been trying to improve the business environment in New York State in recent years to attract more investment from large companies, but as the November gubernatorial election approaches, she is also facing continued pressure from voters on issues such as data centers driving up energy costs and affecting the community's quality of life.

In 2019, Amazon originally planned to build a second headquarters in Long Island, Queens, New York, but due to strong opposition from local residents and politicians, the company eventually cancelled this investment plan. At the time, opponents, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, criticized New York State for providing about $3 billion in tax benefits to Amazon and feared that the project would further increase pressure on local transportation and other public resources.