2026-09-25T10:03:29.159Z / reuters.com
- 内容提要
- 随着选举焦虑加剧，参议院共和党人计划就数据中心议题进行投票
- 特朗普支持率下滑，削弱了共和党保住参议院多数席位的希望
- 共和党希望通过数据中心投票争取选民支持
华盛顿9月25日路透电 — 美国参议院共和党人计划通过投票表决一项旨在保护消费者免受数据中心推高电费影响的法案，以改善自身选举前景，借此争取受唐纳德·特朗普总统对伊朗战争引发的通胀困扰的选民。
共和党原本可以在周四离开华盛顿，直到11月3日中期选举后再返回。但应参议员乔恩·赫斯特德的要求，他们选择下周返回参议院审议《纳税人保护法案》。赫斯特德在俄亥俄州的选情落后于民主党候选人、前参议员谢罗德·布朗，而特朗普2024年在该州以超过11个百分点的优势胜出。
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共和党认为，他们对该法案的投票将表明他们致力于帮助受生活成本危机困扰的选民。民调显示，尽管特朗普支持数据中心建设，但选民普遍反对数据中心项目。
距离选举日不到六周，特朗普的支持率跌至历史低点，共和党对此感到焦虑。此次投票是这种焦虑的最新体现——共和党希望借此保住参众两院的控制权。
这种焦虑促使共和党寻求与特朗普划清界限，以应对选民的不满情绪。分析人士表示，这种不满情绪提升了民主党获胜的希望，即使在堪萨斯州和内布拉斯加州等传统共和党州亦是如此。
共和党呼吁结束伊朗战争
身陷激烈选战的密歇根州参议院共和党候选人迈克·罗杰斯和爱荷华州的艾莉森·希金森呼吁迅速结束伊朗战争。这场战争扰乱了石油供应，推高了能源价格。
包括堪萨斯州参议员罗杰·马歇尔在内的其他共和党人也开始对本州的移民执法行动表示担忧，而移民执法正是特朗普的标志性举措之一。
参议院多数党领袖约翰·图恩表示：“当前环境并不乐观，全国各地的所有竞选都面临逆风。”
他本周早些时候对记者表示，在当地选民关心的议题上与特朗普保持距离，是共和党候选人获胜的最佳途径。
路透/益普索的一项民调显示，即使在共和党选民中，特朗普的支持率也出现下滑，一周内下降了9个百分点，降至73%。
在佐治亚州、爱荷华州、缅因州、北卡罗来纳州和得克萨斯州等关键摇摆州，民调分析公司Civiqs的数据显示，特朗普的支持率比他2024年总统大选得票率低了两位数。
尽管特朗普并未出现在11月的选票上，但他一直是竞选活动的核心，并主导了本月在达拉斯举行的共和党代表大会，该大会旨在提振国会共和党候选人的选情。
“这次选举周期的核心是特朗普，除了他的‘让美国再次伟大’议程之外，他没有给任何人提供值得投票支持的东西，”总部位于亚利桑那州的高地公司的独立战略家查克·考夫林说道。
到目前为止，共和党一直在宣传特朗普2025年生效的《一项宏大而美好的法案》中包含的减税政策，以此作为他们致力于解决民生可负担性问题的证据，同时在跨性别议题和其他文化战争话题上与民主党形成对比。
针对电费问题采取行动
随着人工智能对计算能力的需求不断增长，数据中心数量激增。为满足数据中心巨大的能源需求而进行电网升级的成本，在许多情况下被转嫁到了居民电费用户身上。
《纳税人保护法案》将要求州公用事业监管机构考虑包括数据中心在内的大型电力用户是否应该承担为其服务而建设的电力基础设施的增量成本。该法案以417票对3票在众议院获得通过。参议院预计将于周三进行程序性投票。
民主党人上周阻止了赫斯特德通过一致同意程序通过该法案的尝试。他们表示，该法案不足以保护消费者。民主党提出了《电网储蓄法案》，要求大型数据中心全额支付为其服务所需的电网升级成本。
“赫斯特德参议员的法案是一场骗局。它是自愿的，没有公司必须遵守。我们提出的法案是强制性的，力度要大得多，”参议院民主党领袖查克·舒默对记者表示。
鉴于民主党人的反对，共和党希望通过下周的投票向公众表明，他们而非民主党人已经准备好应对高成本问题。
“他们说他们支持提高可负担性。这是每个人证明这一点的机会，”赫斯特德对记者说道。
戴维·摩根报道；迈克尔·利尔蒙特与辛西娅·奥斯特曼编辑
Hurt by Trump, Senate Republicans plan to bolster affordability credentials before midterms
2026-09-25T10:03:29.159Z / reuters.com
The steel frame of data centers under construction during a tour of the OpenAI data center in Abilene, Texas, U.S., September 23, 2025. A total of eight data center buildings are planned to exist on the campus. REUTERS/Shelby Tauber/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
- Summary
- Senate Republicans plan vote on data centers as election anxiety increases
- Trump’s sinking popularity undermines Republican hopes of keeping Senate majority
- Republicans hope data center vote will give them the upper hand with voters
WASHINGTON, Sept 25 (Reuters) – US 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 Thursday and stay out until after the November 3 midterm election. But they chose to return next week to take up the Ratepayer Protection Act at the behest of Senator Jon Husted, who is trailing the Democratic candidate, former Senator Sherrod Brown, in Ohio, a state Trump won by more than 11 points in 2024.
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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.
REPUBLICANS CALL FOR END TO IRAN WAR
Senate Republican candidates Mike Rogers of Michigan and Allison 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 Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas have begun voicing concern about immigration enforcement operations in their states, one of Trump’s signature initiatives.
“It’s not a great environment. There are headwinds we’re facing in all the races around the country,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
He told reporters earlier this week that demonstrating independence from Trump on issues important to local constituents was the best way for Republican candidates to win.
Trump’s approval ratings have fallen even among Republicans, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll showing party support for the president dropping nine points to 73% over the course of a week.
In key battleground states such as Georgia, Iowa, Maine, North Carolina and Texas, the president’s approval ratings reported by polling analytics firm Civiqs were double digits below his share of the 2024 presidential election vote.
Though Trump is not on the November ballot, he has remained at the center of the campaign and dominated a Republican convention in Dallas this month intended to boost Republican candidates for Congress.
“The election cycle is about Trump, and he’s not given anybody anything to vote for other than his MAGA agenda,” said Chuck Coughlin, an independent strategist who heads the Arizona-based firm Highground Inc.
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.
ACTING ON ELECTRICITY RATES
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 Wednesday.
Democrats, who blocked an attempt by Husted last week 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.
“Senator Husted’s bill is a fraud. It’s voluntary. No company has to do it. The bill we have is mandatory. It is much stronger,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer told reporters.
Given Democratic opposition, Republicans hope to use next week’s vote to show the public that they, not Democrats, are ready to address high costs.
“They say they’re for more affordability. This is a chance for everybody to prove it,” Husted told reporters.
Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Michael Learmonth and Cynthia Osterman
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