The rush to build data center infrastructure for artificial intelligence is colliding with a growing data center backlash in the United States. Between 2023 and 2025, more than $64 billion in U.S. data center projects stalled. Of this total, $18 billion was permanently blocked, while $46 billion faced major delays driven by organized local opposition. What was once an invisible infrastructure sector has become a political flashpoint. In states such as Virginia and Georgia, voters have unseated sitting officials who supported large-scale data center expansion. At the same time, residents from Arizona to Indiana are forming increasingly coordinated campaigns to stop projects in their communities.