Texas welcomed the AI boom. Now Abbott says data centers "dug their own grave"

AxiosAugust 23, 2026en

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott delivered one of the starkest warnings yet from a Republican executive to the AI industry, telling ABC's Jonathan Karl that data center companies "dug their own grave" and deserve the backlash they're facing after failing to win community support. Why it matters: Abbott is the latest governor to sharply change course on the AI data center boom he once enthusiastically courted as local opposition becomes a potent political force . Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who last year celebrated a $20 billion Amazon data center investment, imposed new restrictions this week. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul last month ordered a one-year moratorium on hyperscale data centers

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