Kevin Hassett, National Economic Council Director, said Friday that data center growth will proceed as planned despite voters overwhelmingly restricting such projects in midterm ballot initiatives.
Hassett told CNBC that "the data centers scheduled over the next couple of years aren't affected by these ballot initiatives." At least 46 of roughly 50 ballot measures in 2026 saw majorities vote to restrict data center development, according to Ballotpedia.
"There's plenty of room in the U.S. for data center growth to continue, as it was projected ahead of the election," Hassett said. He predicted expansion will shift to states with welcoming governors and that hostile states may eventually reverse their positions as data centers' economic benefits become apparent.
Hassett attributed Thursday's tech-driven market decline to uncertainty about how political shifts will affect data centers. "Markets are anxious about" a new majority potentially affecting the sector, he said. Yet he remained optimistic, noting that even slower data center growth would leave "a blockbuster economy."
The CNBC Voter Poll found 56% of midterm voters identified data centers as a crucial or major issue, with 62% of those seeing it as crucial favoring the generic Democratic candidate.
President Trump reiterated support in a Truth Social post Friday, writing that as President he is "100% in favor of Super Intelligence (SI)" and will work with states wanting to benefit from the industry.