Inside Trumpās Orders to Fast-Track US Data Centre Expansion
President Donald Trump has signed three executive orders as part of a new “AI Action Plan” designed to fast-track AI infrastructure, scale data centre deployment and restrict what his administration calls “woke” AI models.
The orders, announced during an AI summit in Washington, are positioned as part of a broader strategy to assert US dominance in AI, with direct implications for the data centre market.
The 28-page plan outlines over 90 policy actions, removing regulatory barriers and encouraging global exports of US-developed AI technologies.
A key focus is scaling national data centre capacity to support compute-heavy AI workloads.
āWe believe weāre in an AI race, and we want the United States to win that race,ā David Sacks, Trump Administrationās Crypto Tsar, told reporters.
Fast-track for data centre permits
One executive order addresses infrastructure head-on by instructing federal agencies to accelerate permitting processes for new data centre builds.
This includes bypassing certain environmental regulations that the administration argues are slowing progress on much-needed infrastructure.
The order complements a second that promotes US AI technology exports in light of international competition from countries like China.
It places data centre construction at the centre of US economic and national security strategy, noting that growing global demand for AI compute infrastructure is now linked to geopolitical influence.
Funding tied to AI model neutrality
A third executive order sets conditions for federal funding, requiring AI models used in government procurement to avoid what the Trump Administration terms “ideological dogmas such as DEI” – referring to diversity, equity and inclusion programmes.
“The American people do not want woke Marxist lunacy in the AI models,” President Trump said during his summit speech, hosted by the All-In podcast. “Once and for all, we are getting rid of woke. Is that OK?”
While private companies are not directly regulated under this directive, the White House says funding recipients must build politically neutral AI systems.
The measure introduces ambiguity, as definitions of bias remain contested and could shift based on political interpretation. It also places pressure on AI infrastructure providers to demonstrate not only performance efficiency but also compliance with shifting procurement standards.
This comes as many US AI companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic and Google, have secured contracts worth up to US$200m with the Department of Defense to build federal AI tools.
Industry voices express concern over oversight cuts
While the plan is welcomed by some operators for its focus on growth and deregulation, critics warn the rollback of safety frameworks could lead to problematic outcomes.
Jim Secreto, former Deputy Chief of Staff to Bidenās Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, says: āAccelerating innovation is essential, but dismantling responsible guardrails risks turning Americaās AI revolution into a reckless gamble.ā
On his first day in office, President Trump rescinded a 2023 executive order signed by Joe Biden that had established mandatory safety standards for AI use in federal government. The Trump administration argues these were overly restrictive and slowed progress.
“The White House AI Action plan was written by and for tech billionaires, and will not serve the interests of the broader public,” says Sarah Myers West, Co-executive Director of the AI Now Institute.
The debate around AI bias and content moderation is also expanding into infrastructure concerns.
Elon Musk, who owns xAI and the X platform, has promoted his Grok chatbot as “anti-woke” and may benefit from the current administration’s alignment with his messaging.
Conservative critics have cited issues such as Google’s Gemini generating racially diverse depictions of historical figures, including Second World War soldiers, as examples of left-leaning content.
These concerns are now shaping policy tied directly to infrastructure procurement and deployment.
AI infrastructure tied to national competitiveness
The White House frames the AI competition in global terms, saying the US must dominate AI to compete with China, whose own investments in AI chips and data centres continue to rise.
“AI is a revolutionary technology that’s going to have profound ramifications for both the economy and national security,” David Sacks said, according to the BBC. “It’s just very important that America continues to be the dominant power in AI.”
The AI Action Plan calls on agencies to repeal regulations that could delay infrastructure growth and urges wider AI adoption in both public and private sectors.
That includes support for more rapid deployment of data centres to host training and inference workloads.
As federal funding and export priorities shift, US data centre operators are being pulled into a larger policy framework that redefines compliance around performance, ideology and political perception.
