Feb 24, 2026 | Posted by Abdul-Rahman Oladimeji
The governor of Mississippi hit back at calls to pause data center construction across the US. Governor Tate Reeves claimed that those seeking a data center moratorium were "yearning to submit our society to outside forces: mobs, international councils, or communist China."
"I understand individuals who would rather not have any industrial project in their backyard. We all choose where to live, whether it’s urban, suburban, agrarian, or industrial," Reeves said.
"I do not understand the impulse to prevent our country from advancing technologically- except as civilizational suicide. "
He continued: "I don’t want to go gently. I love this country, and want her to rise. That’s why Mississippi has become the home of the world’s most impressive supercomputers. We are committed to America and American power. We know that being the hub of the world’s most awesome technology will inevitably bring prosperity and authority to our state. There is nobody better than Mississippians to wield it.
Mississippi is home to a number of large data center projects, notably xAI's controversial Colossus 2 project, which has controversially deployed unpermitted gas turbines (the company did the same with Colossus 1).
This is not usual practice for the data center sector, with senior executives in the industry telling DCD that xAI's actions risk impacting perception across the country. CEO Elon Musk has pledged to in vest $20bn in the state.
