Securing AI Infrastructure for U.S. Strategic Leadership

The American Security Project (ASP) is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to researching and educating the American public about the changing nature of national security in the 21st century.

In January 2025, OpenAI announced Stargate, a $500 billion commitment to expand U.S. AI data center capacity, followed by a $100 billion infrastructure announcement by Microsoft. This exponential expansion promises unprecedented economic potential while posing significant complexities for lawmakers.

At ASP's request, the Capstone team conducted policy analysis to identify the major legislative hurdles hindering AI infrastructure expansion in the United States, the national security risks that must be considered when designing new AI infrastructure policies, and potential solutions to those risks. The team assessed four interlocking risk areas: the mismatch between the pace of data center construction and available energy infrastructure, the cyber and physical threats facing hyperscale facilities and the utility systems they depend on, the national security implications of kinetic attacks on U.S. linked AI infrastructure abroad, and the regulatory constraints slowing domestic semiconductor manufacturing. The team drew on Congressional testimony; FERC and NERC regulatory filings; CISA advisories; and interviews with cybersecurity, energy, and national security practitioners.

The team's recommendations were to designate AI data centers as the 17th critical infrastructure sector under NSM-22, advance permitting reform paired with cost causation rules for grid upgrades, incentivize geographically distributed deployment, and extend regulatory relief to cover TSMC's post 2024 U.S. semiconductor expansion.