Why the Trump Administration Is Defending Musk’s xAI Data Centers in Court

A lawsuit over unpermitted gas turbines used to power adata center for Elon Musk’s company xAI Corp. and its AI assistant Grok has become an unexpected test for the US government’s authority over air pollution.

The US Department of Justice sought to join the case last week, citing national security reasons for allowing the turbines in Mississippi to power a hulking data center complex in nearby Memphis. The NAACP had sued over alleged pollution violations.

The federal government moving to intervene in the case could mark an expansion ofexecutive authority. If the US government decides to allow a company to pollute by forgoing enforcement, lawyers for the DOJ are arguing that local communities can’t sue over the resulting pollution.

“Although the stakes are high for this community in Mississippi, this is much bigger than one data center or one company,” said David Uhlmann, a former top EPA enforcement official under President Joe Biden who now works with the nonprofit Environmental Protection Network. “If DOJ’s unprecedented attack on the Clean Air Act succeeds, any administration could try to shut down citizen enforcement whenever a case conflicts with its political priorities, favored industries or preferred projects.”

The DOJ “is committed to enforcing environmental laws,” said agency spokesperson Matthew Nies. “Prudent enforcement requires balancing public interests, including national security. The federal government exercises this enforcement discretion every day without favoritism for any individual or company,” he added. He reiterated DOJ’s position that it has authority to intervene on this case.

An xAI spokesperson did not reply to a request for comment. Last week, xAI’s general counsel James Burnham said in a social media post that he was grateful for the DOJ’s support. Burnham has previously served as legal chief of the Department of Government Efficiency, as well as held senior roles in the White House and Justice Department during Trump’s first administration.

The outcome of the case not only has implications for other data centers, which have already been resorting to unconventional power sources to avoid long lines to be connected to the grid, but other types of polluters potentially looking to skimp on pollution controls.

The Clean Air Act was designed with a provision for citizen suits, which has been used by the general public to fight pollution for decades. It’s effectively a “fail safe” in the law, explained Biden’s deputy EPA chief Janet McCabe, “for citizens directly to be able to enforce these important protections for public health” when the government fails to do so.

It was one of these suits that resulted in a record $97 million settlement requiring Michigan and the city of Flint to replace lead-contaminated pipes, do comprehensive tap water monitoring and more.

Last year, xAI and its subsidiary MZX Tech LLCinstalled and began operating 27 gas turbines in Southaven, Mississippi, without an air permit, which would have required the best available control technology to reduce emissions. It’s unknown whether the turbines have any pollution controls. As of mid-May, the company had installed an additional 30 gas turbines, bringing the total up to 57, with two more expected to soon come online.

Collectively, the 57 turbines have the potential to emit 5,300 tons per year of smog-forming nitrogen oxide (also called NOx), according to an analysis by a former EPA employee who is providing expert testimony in the lawsuit. This would make it the region’s largest source of NOx pollution, which can worsen local asthma rates and contribute to other respiratory diseases.

The turbines don’t have air permits because Mississippi officials, who administer the state’s permitting program, “decided no permit was required for the power source that powers the data center,” according to Nies. Neither DOJ nor EPA made the permitting decision in this matter, he added.

A key reason why Mississippi officials decided a permit wasn’t needed is because the companies have said the gas turbines are temporary. However, an EPA rule finalized in January has clarified that temporary turbines are still subject to pollution controls. When asked about the Southaven turbines, EPA said it doesn’t comment on pending litigation.

By inserting itself into this case, the DOJ is attempting to claim “unilateral power to essentially veto citizen suits,” said Laura Thoms, a lawyer with the nonprofit Earthjusticeworking with NAACP on the case. “I have never seen DOJ make an argument like this. It has no legal or moral precedent.”