Yeah… Yeah… That’s it.

Trump has used "National Security" as a trump card!

Now they are saying these massive energy hogs and polluters are actually super important to "National Security." Cue the rimshot!

It seems like every time they get challenged, they drag out the "National Security" angle. Offshore windmills? "National Security!" National security has become a flexible justification for stopping or pushing through infrastructure projects when the real underlying motives are political, economic, or ideological. And the latest example is... the AI data centers that Trump’s billionaire friends are building!

In boost to Musk, Justice Department seeks to dismiss air pollution lawsuit against xAI data center

AP News

By  MATTHEW DALY and BERNARD CONDON

June 16, 2026

The Trump administration is helping one of Elon Musk’s companies fight a civil rights lawsuit that alleges it is illegally running dozens of natural gas turbines to power a $20 billion AI data center in Mississippi.

The NAACP and other groups say Musk’s xAI subsidiary failed to get a permit for its power plant — which is located near homes, schools and churches — creating health risks for families in North Mississippi and nearby Memphis and violating the federal Clean Air Act.

The Justice Department, in a motion late Monday, sought to intervene in the case and dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that the plant is needed to power an artificial intelligence data center that is “critical to the economy” and the U.S. military.

The state of Mississippi — not the federal government — is responsible for any permits for the power plant and “decided no permit was required,” the Justice Department said in a statement.

Wow! "Critical to the economy" and the U.S. military! So that means that they can pollute the environment?

 “Ultimate responsibility for enforcing federal law belongs to the Executive Branch, not private interest groups,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, who is No. 3 at the Justice Department. The motion to intervene in the case is intended to protect national security and promote American energy and innovation, he added.

Yeah! That’s it! We will just say they are exempt from environmental laws because they are "too important" to us.

NAACP sues Elon Musk’s xAI over Memphis data center air pollution

CNBC

Lora Kolodny

Apr 14 2026

Key Points

• NAACP sued Elon Musk’s xAI, alleging Clean Air Act violations from the company’s use of natural gas-burning turbines to power its data centers.
• XAI is building out its data infrastructure primarily around Memphis as it races to compete in the booming AI market against OpenAI, Anthropic and Google.
• The company’s Colossus 1 and 2 data centers in Memphis, and power plant in Southaven, Mississippi have faced protests for more than a year.

The NAACP filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk’s xAI on Tuesday, accusing the artificial intelligence company of violating the Clean Air Act with its use of natural gas-burning turbines to power data centers in and around Memphis, Tennessee.

The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, alleges that between August and December 2025, xAI and its subsidiary MZX Tech, LLC, installed and operated 27 gas turbines in Southaven, Mississippi, “without an air permit or regard for the health and safety of people living nearby.”

The turbines emit smog-forming pollutants and particulate matter that can lead to increased health risks and an unpleasant odor, among other things.

The NAACP is seeking declaratory and injunctive relief for the companies to “cease operating the Colossus Gas Plant unless and until they obtain the required permits; to apply the necessary pollution controls; and to pay appropriate civil penalties for each day of violation.”

[…]

Separately, the NAACP wants Mississippi state regulators to revoke a permit granted to xAI in March that allowed Musk’s company to build out its massive power plant in Southaven with 41 permanent turbines.

But now the DOJ is claiming the lawsuit is illegal. When big money talks, this administration listens.

The AP article went on to state:

The Trump administration has made AI a top national and economic security priority. It has also upended policies meant to address climate change and has worked to undo environmental regulations on business.

So, Trump has ignored the laws to give his friends a helping hand. But what gets me is: what do they think will happen when Trump is no longer in office?