White House Trade Advisor Peter Navarro speaks to members of the media near the West Wing of the White House on August 21, 2025 in Washington, DC, USA.
Nathan Howard | Reuters
Peter Navarro, President Donald Trump’s trade and manufacturing adviser, said Sunday that the White House could force data center builders to shoulder the cost in response to voters’ concerns about the economic downturn and rising utility bills.
“All these data center builders Meta “They have to pay for all the costs. Not only do they have to pay for the power that they’re using on the grid, they have to pay for the resiliency that’s impacting them,” Navarro said on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” They need to pay for water. So here we have future activities, actions, where we force them to internalize costs. ”
Navarro did not elaborate on what the White House’s plan to force data center builders to internalize costs would look like. CNBC has asked the White House for clarification.
Mehta did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Data centers and their associated utility costs are part of the affordability issue. Electricity prices will rise 6.9% year-on-year in 2025, with little sign of easing. Navarro sought to place the blame for soaring costs on former President Joe Biden, who left office more than a year ago.
“I just want to assure people that we are working on it. We feel your pain,” Navarro said. “We understand the devastation that inflation has caused you because of Joe Biden’s irresponsibility, but ultimately we are addressing this problem with economic policies that allow wages to rise faster than inflation, which is the key to affordability.”
But Americans are increasingly blaming the Trump administration for rising costs. As the November 2026 midterm elections approach, polls consistently show Trump trailing on the economy. Democrats have slammed Trump and Republicans over affordability, saying everyday goods and services have become too expensive. Democrats have a 5.2 point lead in the popular vote ahead of November’s midterm elections that could loosen President Trump’s grip on Washington, according to RealClearPolitics polling average.
Navarro blamed the previous presidential administration for Americans’ lack of affordable living costs, but said Trump himself was “very proud” of the state of the economy. In an interview with NBC Nightly News that aired during Sunday’s Super Bowl, the president was asked, “Where are we in the Trump economy?”
“I think I’m already there,” he answered.
The Trump administration recently took steps to address data center power burdens and rising utility costs.
Several states and the White House signed a deal in January that requires PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest power transmission operator, to make big technology companies pay for new power plants on the system. PJM operates grids in some of the highest concentrations of data centers in the United States, including Northern Virginia and New Jersey.
Democratic governors Abigail Spanberger of Virginia and Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey both campaigned for lower electricity rates and won their states in 2025.
The deal calls for $15 billion in new generation capacity within PJM to be financed by tech companies and requires operators to hold emergency auctions to procure power. The move comes as the administration simultaneously battles offshore wind projects in the Northeast, some of which are either fully permitted or under construction.
“Perhaps no region of the United States is more at risk than PJM,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said after the announcement. “That’s why President Trump is calling on governors across the Mid-Atlantic to come together and call on PJM to help America build reliable, large-scale power plants again.”
Last week, POLITICO reported on a draft agreement the White House is asking tech companies to sign to prevent data centers from impacting consumers’ utility bills.
Trump said on Truth Social last month that he and Trump had reached an agreement. microsoft “This is to ensure that Americans don’t ‘pick the buck’ for their electricity consumption in the form of paying higher utility bills.” The president added that the administration is in talks with other tech giants and “more will be coming soon.”
Last month, Microsoft pledged not to raise utility costs near its data centers and to replenish the water used at its centers.
