Trump announces 'AI Force' and plans for an AI czar

President Trump announced an 'AI Force' modeled on the Space Force and said he'll appoint an 'AI czar.' He claimed AI could reach 25% of US economic output, rejected new AI regulation, and characterized criticism of data centers as a partisan attack.

Why it matters: This sets up a direct clash with the state-level pushback already underway, including California's AI 'kill switch' order, Virginia's new data center curbs, and Loudoun County's permit pause, and even with Trump's own base, which is increasingly hostile to data center buildouts in their communities. A federal push to go faster while states move to rein things in points toward a real policy fight over the next year.