Opinion piece argues Trump should use executive authority to fast-track data centers as a national security priority against China
A Washington Examiner op-ed by Samir Tata, founder of International Political Risk Analytics, argues that data centers are vital to U.S. national security and that opposition to them risks ceding technological leadership to China. The piece outlines four steps it says President Trump should take to accelerate data center development, including implementing a July 2025 executive order and appointing a "data centers czar."
Single source · Not corroborated
A Washington Examiner op-ed published September 17, 2026, frames the debate over data center development as a national security matter, arguing that resistance to building such facilities could undermine U.S. military, economic, and political power in competition with China.
The author, Samir Tata, proposes four specific actions for President Trump. The first is aggressive implementation of a July 2025 executive order that encourages siting data centers and associated energy infrastructure — including small modular nuclear reactors — on federal properties, and clarifying that desalination and water treatment facilities are covered under that order. The second is the appointment of a "data centers czar" to fast-track federal approvals and help resolve state and local regulatory conflicts. The third is a coordinated public messaging effort by Trump's national security team, with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent articulating the military and economic roles data centers play. The fourth is framing the current AI and data center competition with China as analogous to Cold War technology races over nuclear weapons, missiles, and space.
Tata writes that without a guaranteed federal option for siting data centers, the industry would be "hobbled by rampant NIMBYism." He also suggests that placing data centers on federal land could boost the assessed value of those properties. On the economic side, the piece cites a Trump administration GDP growth target of 3% per annum, contrasting it with the Congressional Budget Office's 1.8% annual growth assumption, and attributes the difference in part to potential AI-driven productivity gains.