Cybersecurity & Tech States & Localities

Scaling Laws: The Politics of Data Centers with VA Delegate John McAuliff

Kevin Frazier, John McAuliff
Friday, May 22, 2026, 10:00 AM

John McAuliff, a Delegate in the Viriginia House of Delegates, joins Kevin Frazier, Director of the AI Innovation and Law Program and a Senior Fellow with the Abundance Institute, to discuss the ongoing debates around data centers at the state level.

John was one of the first candidates to recognize data centers as a key issue. He had to convince his polling team to put the issue on early surveys. Of course, they soon realized he was on to something. In his first legisatlive session as a delegate, John championed legislation to try to help counties negotiate with data center developers. He's not done working on the topic. Learn more about his plans and related issues by giving this episode a listen. 


Kevin Frazier is a Senior Fellow at the Abundance Institute, Director of the AI Innovation and Law Program at the University of Texas School of Law, a Senior Editor at Lawfare, and a Adjunct Research Fellow at the Cato Institute.
John McAuliff is a delegate in the Viriginia House of Delegates.
}

Subscribe to Lawfare