Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren speaks with CNBC on June 24, 2026.
CNBC
Senate Democrats want information on how spending on artificial intelligence and data centers is being done. Meta, Amazon, alphabet and microsoft It is subsidized by tax breaks granted in the 2025 tax cuts and spending package passed by Republicans at the behest of President Donald Trump.
The letter, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and sent Sunday night and shared exclusively with CNBC, asked the CEOs of the four companies for information about the tax credits they claim related to AI and data center development, as well as their lobbying efforts to pass the 2025 bill, commonly known as the “Big Beautiful Bill.”
Reps. Tina Smith, D-Minn., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., Bernie Sanders, D-Vermont, and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., also joined in the letter.
“Americans across the country are concerned about the impact that artificial intelligence (AI) will have on their lives, from rising utility bills to job loss and the threat of cyberattacks,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter. “But rather than meaningfully regulate Big Tech companies and slow the frenzy of new technology adoption, Republicans in Washington passed tax subsidies for AI development and AI data centers.”
Spokespersons for all four companies did not respond to requests for comment. The White House also did not respond to a request for comment.
The investigation comes as the U.S. government grapples with how to deal with AI and data center developments as public outcry intensifies in the run-up to the 2026 midterm elections.
Democrats hope to regain control of the House and Senate (most predicting Republicans will still hold the Senate) and seek to distinguish themselves as the more pro-regulatory party.
2028 Democratic presidential candidates, such as California Governor Gavin Newsom, have issued statements and issued executive orders. And Democratic congressional candidates, including state Rep. James Talarico, a Democratic candidate for the Texas Senate, and Sherrod Brown, a Democrat running for the Ohio Senate, have criticized their Republican opponents for past support for data centers.
Republicans, meanwhile, have criticized Senate Democrats for blocking swift passage of a bill that would create a framework states could adopt to deal with rising data center-related utility costs. Senator Martin Heinrich (D.M.) blocked the bill on the grounds that it did not go far enough in protecting consumers. The bill, called the Ratepayer Protection Act, could be considered again in the Senate this week.
Warren has previously called for higher taxes on AI and data center developers and investigated the relationship between private equity and data centers.
His Monday letter follows reports that corporate tax payments are falling this year even as profits rise as tech companies take advantage of AI tax incentives. Corporate tax payments are down 25% this year, according to Warren’s letter, which cited budget forecasters in a Politico report. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicted in February that the federal government would collect 10.6% less in corporate taxes in 2026 than the previous year, dropping the total from $452 billion to $404 billion.
Meta, for example, paid $2.8 billion in federal income taxes in 2025, down from $9.6 billion in 2024, but earned about the same profits in both years.
“This massive tax cut appears to have been largely driven by President Trump and Republican tax cuts to subsidize spending on AI,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. “Our capital expenditures, the ‘vast majority’ of which were data center construction and other AI spending, amounted to an extraordinary $72 billion last year, much of which could have been quickly deducted using OBBBA corporate tax subsidies.”
According to technology consulting firm ABI Research, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft are the top three U.S. data center companies in terms of active IT capabilities. Google Cloud, owned by Alphabet, ranks 10th.
In their letter, the lawmakers pointed to the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, noting that Microsoft’s current federal income tax expenses have decreased by more than $11 billion from fiscal year 2025 to fiscal year 2026. Amazon’s federal income tax payments decreased by nearly $8 billion from fiscal year 2024 to fiscal year 2025. Additionally, Alphabet’s current combined federal and state income tax expenditures decreased by more than $7 billion over the same period.
The companies each donated $1 million to President Trump’s inauguration and spent millions lobbying Congress and federal agencies to pass the 2025 tax and spending bill, according to the letter.
“Your company has spent lavish resources to maintain President Trump’s goodwill, and it appears that those investments are paying off,” the lawmakers wrote.
We asked each company to respond by October 12th.
