Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) on Nov. 11 became the first Senate Republican to publicly back a federal moratorium on data centers, according to Gizmodo and the Washington Examiner. The call came in a post on X, not in legislation, and it arrived the same day his office announced four amendments to the Senate's permitting and transmission bill aimed at limiting eminent domain for power lines.

The two moves go at the buildout from different directions. One is a short demand for a pause on new facilities. The other is a set of specific changes to how transmission developers can acquire private land. Both are tied to the six weeks left in the lame-duck session.

What Hawley Said

The Washington Examiner quoted the X post: "Senate Republicans trying to figure out what to do in the next 6 weeks? Here you go: DEFUND Planned Parenthood MORATORIUM on data centers SUSPEND the gas tax FUND rural hospitals SAVE AMERICA ACT."

The post itself doesn't say how a moratorium would work, how long it would last, or what it would cover. A Hawley spokesperson filled in some of that for the Examiner: "Senator Hawley is calling for a federal data center moratorium until Congress passes a bill of rights giving taxpayers guarantees of no rate increases."

So the proposal, as his office described it, is conditional. The pause would last until Congress passes protections against utility rate increases. Neither the post nor the spokesperson's statement describes what that "bill of rights" would contain. Neither source mentions any filed bill text for a moratorium.

The moratorium call doesn't appear on Hawley's Senate press release page as of this writing. It exists only as the X post and the spokesperson's comments to reporters.

Where It Fits in Hawley's Record

The Washington Examiner placed the post in the context of Hawley's earlier data center legislation: the No Tax Breaks for Data Centers Act, which he introduced in September, and the GRID Act, which he sponsors with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). The Examiner also noted that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) introduced a bill in March to pause new data center development.

That is the partisan shift Gizmodo's headline points to: it described the moratorium idea as one that has so far largely been championed by progressive Democrats like Sanders. Gizmodo noted that Hawley's post came a week after midterm elections in which data centers became a focal point in many races. It also reported that President Trump has not hidden his disdain for anti-data-center sentiment, which sets the senator's call apart from the president's stated view.

The Amendments: Eminent Domain and Transmission

The more concrete action on Nov. 11 was on Hawley's official site. According to a press release from his office, Hawley introduced four amendments to the Senate's permitting and transmission bill to add new rights and protections for farmers, ranchers and landowners against eminent domain takings of their land for electric transmission projects.

The release says one of the proposals, Amendment #1, would create a new statutory federal floor of 150% of fair market value. In other words, landowners whose property is taken for transmission would be paid at least that much under that amendment.

The amendments don't mention data centers. New transmission is one of the ways utilities may serve large new loads, and federal permitting reform has been pitched in part as a way to speed power lines. Raising the cost of land acquisition, or adding procedural protections for landowners, could change the economics and timelines of such projects. That is inference: the release doesn't estimate those effects, and DataCenterFeed has not seen an analysis that does.

The Permitting Bill's Status

The amendments are attached to a bill that is moving, though not with certainty. Utility Dive reported on Nov. 10 under the headline "Permitting bill advances in Senate, but election results cast doubt on its future." According to that report, the Senate voted Monday, Nov. 9, to advance the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, a major piece of permitting reform legislation, with 73 yeses, 25 nos and two abstentions. Utility Dive also reported that some experts and lawmakers have voiced skepticism about its future in the lame-duck session after midterm elections in which Democrats won control of both chambers, and that analysts at TD Cowen cut their outlook for the bill's success from about 40% to around 25%.

Whether any of Hawley's four amendments get a vote depends on how Senate leaders structure floor consideration. His office's release, as read by DataCenterFeed, doesn't say whether votes have been scheduled.

What the Two Moves Have in Common

Taken together, the X post and the amendments both concern ratepayers and landowners who bear costs from new power infrastructure. The spokesperson's statement ties the moratorium directly to utility rates. The amendments focus on farmers, ranchers and landowners in the path of transmission lines.

Neither is a finished policy. The moratorium is a call without a bill described in the sources. The amendments are proposals to a bill that has advanced in the Senate but has not passed. For developers, utilities and local officials tracking federal risk, the practical point is narrower: a Republican senator with a record of data center legislation has now publicly called for a federal moratorium, and has done so with only weeks left in the session.

What Happens Next

Hawley framed his list of priorities, including the moratorium, around "the next 6 weeks." The sources do not describe any scheduled step for the moratorium call. His four eminent-domain amendments were introduced on the Senate permitting and transmission bill, which Utility Dive reported the Senate voted to advance on Nov. 9. Neither Hawley's release nor the other sources name a date for votes on those amendments.

Sources