Senator Johnson Links China Funding to Anti-Data Center Push

The Playbook Unfolds

Experts are sounding the alarm on a coordinated effort to stop data center growth across the United States. Fox News Digital reported that Larry Behrens, communications director at Power The Future, observed the opposition adheres to a known pattern. He said, “It’s a playbook we’ve seen before.” This same tactic appeared during fights over the Dakota Access Pipeline and domestic oil production. Groups that claim to be local often wear the same shirts and carry identical signs.

Behrens explained how money moves through complex networks to hide its true source. “What they do is they send their money through a maze of organizations, deliberately trying to mask what it is being used for and seeing that the tentacles reach in from far and are made to look local,” he told Fox News. The goal is to make outside money appear as a genuine grassroots movement from the community.

Several left-wing groups backing these campaigns have received major funding from progressive networks. Public Citizen lists George Soros’ Open Society Foundations among its supporters. The Sierra Club received $3.6 million from Arabella Advisors’ Sixteen Thirty Fund between 2014 and 2022. Funding tied to socialist megadonor Neville Roy Singham supports CodePink, an organization that has targeted data center projects. Deep connections to the Chinese Communist Party exist for Singham.

Foreign Money in the Fight

In Texas, opposition to data centers is fueled by a network of left-wing groups. Public Citizen helped form the Texas Data Center Rebellion, which held a two-day meeting in San Antonio. The Sierra Club’s Austin chapter joined forces with the Party for Socialism and Liberation for a “Defend Dog’s Head” forum. This event opposed a massive development in Austin that includes data centers.

Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) voiced his worries during a Breitbart News Fight Club Roundtable. He believes foreign actors are helping to fund the opposition. “I would hate to see China win the war on AI. Again, I don’t have the specifics on this. “I have a sense that China is funding the opposition to AI centers, Johnson said. Johnson contended that the United States must avoid placing itself at a disadvantage in the race for artificial intelligence.

Singham directed approximately $285 million into six activist nonprofits, according to prior reporting by Fox News Digital. As the U.S. and China compete for worldwide AI supremacy, this situation is unfolding. Johnson noted that demands on water resources are overstated because of this propaganda. “We need to expose that fact, and then we need the American public to open up their eyes and go, okay, do we really want to handicap ourselves,” he said.

Workers and the Future

Senator Johnson also addressed fears that AI will replace American jobs. He compared the current situation to the agricultural economy of a century ago. “Right now, we don’t have enough workers. Our biggest problem isn’t trade or trade deficits. We don’t have workers, so, you know, AI will free up and will have more workers producing things,” he added. He believes the technology will help solve the labor shortage rather than create one.

Despite the benefits, Johnson remains concerned about the safety of AI systems. “I’m concerned about out-of-control AI. Who is going to provide general intelligence the rules, so they don’t destroy the human race?” he asked. He referenced science fiction author Isaac Asimov and his three basic commandments for robotics. Johnson questioned who is currently setting these rules for the new technology.

Groups actively involved in anti-ICE protests and “No Kings” protests are also pushing back against data centers. An earlier letter from Power the Future asked Congress to look closer at these opposition efforts. The letter pointed out the various left-wing groups backing the campaigns against data centers springing up across the country. The question remains whether the public will see through the funded opposition.