Republicans aim to boost affordability credentials

David Morgan

REUTERS

WASHINGTON – Senate Republicans aim to improve their election prospects by voting on legislation that seeks to protect consumers from rising electricity bills caused by data centers, hoping to win over voters struggling with inflation stoked by President Donald Trump’s war with Iran.

Republicans had the option to depart Washington on Sept. 24 and stay out until after the Nov. 3 midterm election. But they chose to stay to take up the Ratepayer Protection Act at the behest of Sen. Jon Husted, who is trailing the Democratic candidate, former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, in Ohio, a state Trump won by more than 11 points in 2024.

Republicans believe their votes in favor of the bill will demonstrate their commitment to helping voters focused on a cost-of-living crisis, with polls showing broad opposition to data centers despite Trump’s support for their development.

Holding a vote on the bill is the latest sign of Republican anxiety in the face of Trump’s record-low approval rating less than six weeks before Election Day, when Republicans hope to retain control of the Senate and House of Representatives.

This angst has prompted Republicans to find ways to break with Trump and address voter frustrations that analysts say have raised Democratic hopes even in traditionally Republican states such as Kansas and Nebraska.

Senate Republican candidates Mike Rogers of Michigan and Ashley Hinson of Iowa, who are locked in tight election contests, have called for a quick end to the Iran war, which has disrupted oil supplies and caused energy prices to surge.

Other Republicans including Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas have begun voicing concern about immigration enforcement operations in their states, one of Trump’s signature initiatives.

Trump’s approval ratings have fallen even among Republicans, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll showing party support for the president dropping 9 percentage points to 73% over the course of a week.

Up to now, Republicans have promoted tax cuts contained in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, which went into effect in 2025, as evidence of their effort to address affordability, while contrasting themselves with Democrats on transgender issues and other culture-war topics.

Data centers are proliferating as artificial intelligence requires increasing computing power. Costs for grid upgrades needed to meet data centers’ massive energy demands have in many cases been passed on to residential electricity consumers.

The Ratepayer Protection Act would require state utility regulators to consider whether large electricity users including data centers should bear the incremental costs of power infrastructure built to serve them. It passed the House of Representatives in a 417-3 vote. A procedural vote was expected in the Senate on Sept. 30.

Democrats, who recently blocked an attempt by Husted to pass the legislation through unanimous consent, said the bill does not go far enough to protect consumers. They have proposed the GRID Savings Act, which would require large data centers to pay the full cost of grid upgrades needed to serve them.

Costs for grid upgrades needed to meet data centers’ massive energy demands have in many cases been passed on to residential electricity consumers.

Shelby Tauber/REUTERS file