Seizing the Moment: Reconciliation and America's AI Future

The next four years will determine whether America maintains its global leadership in artificial intelligence or cedes it to China. This technological and geopolitical reality demands massive transformation at every level of society – from government, to civil society, to private industry.

Fortunately, the upcoming budget reconciliation process offers a rare legislative vehicle capable of addressing this challenge at the necessary scale. The Republican-led bill already aims to boost domestic energy supply, but tinkering at the margins won't suffice. We need bold action.

For one, Congress must use reconciliation to push the Department of Energy to dramatically expand America’s nuclear energy capacity and modernize our national energy grid.

A good start would be repurposing some portion of frozen Inflation Reduction Act funds to jumpstart a national nuclear energy revival. There are, potentially, hundreds of billions of dollars once meant for clean energy programs being held up as the Trump administration rightly considers how to allocate them in ways that are more strategic and benefit the national interest. By developing new grant programs or adapting old ones, the DOE can infuse nuclear energy projects, such as new power plants or more high-assay, low enrichment uranium (HALEU) facilities, with much-needed capital, while streamlined regulations and permitting processes can ensure new projects do not become mired in setbacks and slowdowns.  

Modernizing our electrical grid is equally crucial. Without it, we'll have power plants with nowhere to send electricity, data centers with insufficient power, and continued inefficiencies that compound lost wealth. Fortunately, the private sector is already developing data-driven, AI-enabled solutions to address these challenges. For instance, by leveraging real-time data from smart meters, sensors, and weather forecasts, AI systems can identify demand spikes before they occur and optimize supply accordingly, greatly reducing waste. Machine learning algorithms have also demonstrated their ability to fine-tune nuclear reactor operations, like adjusting coolant flow or fuel burn-up, potentially improving output and efficiency.

Finally, Congress should use the reconciliation process to spur data center development nationwide. Government grants, deregulating land use, tax incentives like Opportunity zones, and public-private partnerships, are all tools that can be used to jumpstart development of these data centers. Moreover, the government should focus data center building and production in rural or midwestern regions, which would help ensure the benefits of the AI revolution serve all of America, not only elites on the coasts. This is already happening in places like Council Bluffs, Iowa (Google Data Center) and Columbus, Ohio (Microsoft Data Center). Indeed, President Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act already contains the perfect framework for this mission with its Opportunity Zone program. This could be a big win for Americans across the board.

Beyond passing the legislation, it is vital we execute these initiatives as fast as possible. The government should leverage the Silicon Valley talent that has joined the government to help with this. The xAI Colossus supercomputer outside of Memphis brought 100,000 advanced GPUs online in just 122 days, demonstrating the ambition and execution speed which must define our national AI infrastructure push.

Congress and the White House understandably have many competing priorities for reconciliation—border security, tax cuts, and defense spending, to name a few – but this moment demands we recognize the necessity of modern AI infrastructure and take significant steps towards realizing it. The future of American power — both technological and geopolitical — depends on it.

Mehdi Alhassani serves as Palantir’s Head of Government Affairs and Public Policy. He is on the advisory board for the Truman National Security Project, and he has served as a Special Assistant at the National Security Council.