Southwest
Texas GOP could stall Trump’s bold AI vision with red tape as China races ahead: 'Investors are nervous'
President Donald Trump’s high-tech moonshot may hit a Texas-sized speed bump — and it’s coming from his own party.
Trump’s AI initiative, dubbed “Stargate,” aims to build 20 ultra-powerful data centers across the country. Backed by heavyweights like OpenAI, Oracle, SoftBank, and the UAE-funded MGX, the project represents a $500 billion bet on the future with Texas chosen as ground zero for the first 10 centers.
But a new Texas bill, Senate Bill 6, could delay or derail that momentum.
The legislation adds a six-month regulatory review on top of an existing 6–18-month timeline, while also requiring new fees and mandatory backup generators, doubling approval time and inflating costs.
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President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House while SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, Oracle co-founder, CTO and Executive Chairman Larry Ellison, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman look on on January 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
And while the legislation is pitched as a safeguard against another Winter Storm Uri-style blackout, Trump allies warn it could torpedo a generational opportunity.
“This bill would be a serious roadblock to the president’s vision,” said Vance Ginn, president of Ginn Economic Consulting and former chief economist at the White House Office of Management and Budget during Trump’s first term, in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital.
“It’s a misguided effort that’s rooted in fear: fear of energy scarcity, fear of AI, fear of the future.”
According to Ginn, the bill’s hefty requirements, including a $100,000 grid connection fee and a so-called “kill switch” that would let the Electric Reliability Council of Texas cut power to data centers, could end up pushing these billion-dollar projects out of Texas entirely.
“These companies aren’t just using energy,” Ginn said. “Many of them actually put excess electricity back onto the grid. So instead of hurting Texas, they help stabilize it.”
Stargate has already broken ground in Abilene, but the next 10 data centers are still up in the air. If Texas becomes too costly or complicated, experts warn the back half of the project might never happen — even as rival states like Wyoming and Tennessee court businesses without Texas’s infrastructure.
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“The Texas legislature should be working in lockstep with President Trump to build out AI infrastructure, not throwing up barriers,” Ginn added. “The AI revolution is here. If Texas fumbles this, it will fall behind.”
The bill’s sponsor, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, insists the legislation won’t hurt Trump’s agenda. “Senate Bill 6 actually ensures President Trump’s Stargate Plan is a success,” Patrick said in a statement. “We are in lockstep with the president on his goal to make America number one, and dominate China on AI, data centers, and cryptocurrency.”
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (R), accompanied by U.S. President Donald Trump, speaks during a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on January 21, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Even with a Trump endorsement for Patrick’s re-election, Trump-aligned economists say the state is playing a dangerous game.
“We’re already seeing signs of this,” Ginn warned. “Microsoft has pulled back on projects. Investors are nervous. And meanwhile, China’s forging ahead.”
A Chinese startup called DeepSeek has made headlines for rolling out cutting-edge AI models in record time, triggering fresh anxiety about America’s standing in the global AI arms race.
Trump announced an investment in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and took questions on a range of topics. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“This isn’t just about innovation,” Ginn said. “This is national security. If we’re six months behind China, we may never catch up.”
Trump has backed up his AI push with hard policy, including a 10% blanket tariff on all imports and a steep 125% tariff on Chinese goods, announced just last week. But those tariffs could also raise the price of key data center components, from steel to electrical transformers.
Despite the tradeoffs, the Trump administration sees Stargate as a cornerstone of 21st-century American leadership in everything from education to healthcare.
“Texas should be leading,” Ginn said. “We can’t let fear of the unknown hold us back.”
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A man armed with a knife was shot by L.A. police officers responding to an assault with a deadly weapon call overnight, authorities said.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, officers with the Hollenbeck Division responded to an apartment complex in the 3000 block of Glenn Avenue in Boyle Heights at 1:45 a.m. Saturday after callers reported a male suspect was armed with a knife and had just assaulted someone in the complex.
Arriving officers found the suspect in front of the residence, but he did not comply with officers’ commands to drop the weapon. He then advanced toward the officers and an officer-involved shooting occurred, LAPD confirmed.
“The suspect was struck by gunfire and remained non-compliant,” the LAPD Public Information Officer said on X early Saturday morning. “Officers deployed a 40mm foam round and ultimately took the suspect into custody.”
Video obtained by KTLA shows the man being loaded into an ambulance and taken to a hospital; officials said he was transported in stable condition, adding that his knife was recovered at the scene and booked as evidence.
No officers or community members were injured during the incident. The man’s name was not released.
Dangerous rip currents and high surf are forecast for Los Angeles County beaches, including the Malibu Coast this weekend.
The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous beach statement, warning of the potentially deadly beach conditions. The dangerous conditions are forecast to last from Saturday evening to Monday morning.
“There is an increased risk of ocean drowning,” the NWS forecast reads. “Rip currents can pull swimmers and surfers out to sea. Waves can wash people off beaches and rocks, and capsize small boats nearshore.”
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A guide to surviving rip currents from the National Weather Service (NWS)
Minor Beach erosion and coastal flooding is possible through the weekend. The flooding is most likely to occur during evening high tides from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Beachgoers are advised to stay out of the water and remain near lifeguard towers. Jetties and tidepools are also especially dangerous during the weekend forecast.
“Rock jetties can be deadly in such conditions, stay off the rocks,” the NWS forecast reads.
Similar hazardous beach conditions are also in the forecast for Santa Barbara County. A high surf advisory is also in effect for Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties this weekend, where 10 to 15-foot waves will be possible.
If you live or want to live in Los Angeles, the city controller has released a new dashboard highlighting some of the city’s most notorious problem rental properties, a tool designed to help renters avoid future headaches.
“This project comes at a time when tenants are reporting harassment and illegal evictions violating the City’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance, Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance and Tenant Anti‑Harassment Ordinance, but very few of the complaints end up leading to strong enforcement or real accountability,” L.A. City Controller Kenneth Mejia said in a media release Thursday.
The new Top 100 Problem Rental Properties dashboard includes a searchable database of all residential addresses with reported housing violation cases within the city of Los Angeles, a ranked list of the 100 addresses with the most violations and an interactive map.
“There has never before been an uncomplicated way for anyone to look up years’ worth of violations by address,” Mejia said in the release.
Data for the dashboard was compiled from multiple sources, including the Los Angeles Housing Department, Los Angeles City Planning and the L.A. County Assessor’s Office, according to the controller’s office.
The release also identified the top three addresses with the highest number of reported housing violations:
1. 636 1/2 North Hill Place, Chinatown
192 housing violation cases
2. 11700 West Wilshire Boulevard, Sawtelle
166 housing violation cases
3. 6650 West Forest Lawn Drive, Hollywood Hills
113 housing violation cases
“Our new dashboard is an easy‑to‑understand public tool that we hope will help renters and organizers document patterns of harm, as well as put pressure on both landlords and the City to act,” Mejia said. “Everyone deserves safe, stable and dignified housing.”
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