Trump's AI announcements: Tech Corps, data center costs, modern warfare

Is the AI Action Plan still on track?

on March 9, 2026

The Trump Administration is still building its AI foundation. Credit: Alex Wong / Staff / Getty Images / Getty Images News

It's been less than a year since the Trump administration announced its sprawling AI action plan, and the government continues to push for America to be the global leader in AI.

And while American opinion on AI remains mixed, adoption of AI tools has grown domestically. U.S.-based AI companies are taking products to market at breakneck speeds. According to a 2025 Stanford report, the U.S. is building more top AI models than any other country.

With this as proof that their plan is working, federal leaders are charging ahead with new infrastructure plans and AI executive orders, from beefing up AI stack workers to coordinating military deployment. Here's what's happened over the last month:

Ratepayer Protection Pledge

In an apparent gesture to assuage growing concern about the impact of nationwide data centers, Trump unveiled the buzzy Ratepayer Protection Pledge on March 5.

The voluntary, non-binding pledge is a tech industry commitment to provide or pay for all energy costs associated with AI projects. Signees agree to add new power stations instead of relying on existing power grids, cover costs of upgrading existing energy systems, and negotiate separate rate structures with local utility companies, when possible. It was signed by Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Amazon Web Services, Oracle, and xAI, following months of comments by Trump encouraging tech companies to "pay their own way" toward a larger national AI infrastructure.

Speaking at a White House roundtable on March 4, Trump said that Big Tech needed the "PR help," responding to a growing body of complaints that tech companies were offloading energy costs onto residents near data centers. "Because people think that if a data center goes in, their electricity prices are going to go up, and that’s not happening," the president said. "It’s not going to happen."

To the chagrin of climate activists, the agreement does not mention limiting the environmental impacts of data centers. And energy experts say that long-term energy cost reduction will take years to be reflected in the bills of community members — if companies actually stick to their promises.

U.S. Tech Corps

On Feb. 22, the Trump administration quietly unveiled its new Tech Corps, an offshoot of the nation's Peace Corps, that will send trained Americans abroad to evangelize about American AI technology.

Tech Corps members, who must have proven tech skills, will be assigned to projects in participating American AI Exports Program countries, participating in what the government calls "last mile" AI deployment, CNBC reports. A list of participating countries has yet to be announced.

The Tech Corps will "help countries around the world harness American artificial intelligence to enhance opportunity and prosperity for their citizens," the official website reads. Examples on the website include working alongside schools to accelerate AI adoption, assisting national offices in co-developing AI models, and offering virtual project options in collaboration with American tech companies. Tech Corps volunteers serve 12 to 27-month placements, and on-ground deployments are expected to begin this fall. Like the Peace Corps, volunteers will get covered housing, healthcare, and a living stipend.

The Trump administration has said it will harness the agency's existing infrastructure to "turbocharge" the mission of "promoting World Peace and friendship."

Don't confuse the Tech Corps with the Trump administration's Tech Force, a two-year training and fellowship program aimed at recruiting a fleet of AI specialists and technologists. At the time, the administration explained the program would result in about "1,000 technology specialists hired by agencies to accelerate artificial intelligence (AI) implementation and solve the federal government's most critical technological challenges." The advertised salary for the select few ranges from $150,000 up to $200,000 — no degree required.

AI-enabled Department of War

But the biggest headline out of Trump's recent tech agenda is actually an escalating feud, as the administration's Department of War goes head-to-head with some of the country's leading AI companies. Amid a new war with Iran, the government hopes to use the modern tech to boost the country's warfare capacity.

Part of the administration's efforts to modernize federal offices and integrate AI across departments, AI developers including OpenAI, Google, Perplexity, and Anthropic have snagged multimillion dollar contracts to deploy their services across the federal government and even work directly with federal agencies.

But a recent $200 million deal with Anthropic over the use of Claude by the U.S. military has since fallen through, after the company drew a hard line on utilizing its models to engage in potential mass domestic surveillance or power autonomous weapons under the Department of War. In response, Trump ordered an immediate termination of the use of Claude by government agencies and later declared Anthropic a "supply-chain risk" to national security, even as rumors circulated that negotiations had been reopened. In the meantime, OpenAI swooped in to take over the agreement, with CEO Sam Altman admitting the agreement to use OpenAI's model was rushed.

"I think we are heading towards a world where the relationship between governments and AI efforts is critical," Altman wrote in a lengthy X post. "This will be difficult but it has to happen; I do not see any good future where we don't get there."

Topics Artificial Intelligence Social Good Donald Trump Politics

Trump's AI action plan moves ahead with new Tech Corps, data center initiatives | Find a Way

Trump's AI announcements: Tech Corps, data center costs, modern warfare

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Ratepayer Protection Pledge

U.S. Tech Corps

AI-enabled Department of War

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