Lee Zeldin held an AI roundtable at the White House today, promising to speed up permitting so America can become the "AI capital of the world." The challenge is that multiple EPA administrators have promised permitting reform before, with limited success.
The Permitting Challenge
The US infrastructure permitting process involves multiple layers of bureaucracy that can delay critical projects for years.
EPA permitting reform has proven difficult to implement despite widespread support. Zeldin's promising to streamline reviews for AI infrastructure, which would represent significant progress given that Meta waited 18 months for permits on their Iowa data center while Chinese companies built three facilities in the same timeframe.
The numbers are concerning: US companies spend 18-24 months navigating environmental reviews while China approves similar projects in 6-8 months. This creates a significant competitive disadvantage when racing to build AI infrastructure before competitors capture market share. Amazon's AWS faces similar delays, with Virginia facilities taking 12-18 months for basic permitting.
Why This Matters for AI Competition
Zeldin correctly identifies that AI infrastructure is a national priority. Training advanced models like GPT-5 requires data centers the size of airplane hangars filled with tens of thousands of H100s, each consuming massive amounts of electricity. Building those facilities requires navigating EPA reviews, state environmental approvals, local zoning boards, and potential NIMBY litigation.
Meanwhile, China approves construction rapidly. Without environmental impact statements, public comment periods, or citizen review boards, they approved construction of the world's largest AI training facility in Shenzhen in six weeks. Compare that to TSMC's Arizona fab, which required 4 years of permitting before breaking ground.
Who Actually Showed Up
Tech CEOs gathered at the White House to discuss AI infrastructure permitting challenges with EPA Administrator Zeldin.
The roundtable had the usual suspects: AWS, Microsoft, Google begging for faster approvals, plus Intel and AMD bitching about fab delays. What they won't tell you is companies are already building overseas to avoid our regulatory mess.
Zeldin's talking about making America the "AI capital of the world" while American companies literally build their AI infrastructure in other countries because our permitting process takes longer than a presidential term. Microsoft's Ireland expansion, Google's Singapore facilities, and Amazon's European buildout all reflect regulatory arbitrage.
The Brutal Reality of Competing with China
China's infrastructure development moves at breakneck speed compared to the lengthy US permitting process.
China doesn't have environmental reviews - they have construction schedules. When Beijing decides they need a new chip fab, dirt starts moving in weeks. When the US decides the same thing, lawyers start billing in weeks and construction starts in years.
The numbers are embarrassing: TSMC's Arizona fab took four years of permitting before breaking ground. China's equivalent Yangtze Memory facility went from approval to production in 18 months. We're not just losing the AI race - we're losing it in slow motion while filing environmental impact statements.
The Political Theater of Permitting Reform
This is really about Zeldin trying to look business-friendly after getting hammered for rolling back environmental protections. Every EPA administrator promises permitting reform, then runs into the same wall of federal law written when dial-up was cutting-edge technology.
Michael Regan promised reform, Andrew Wheeler promised reform, Gina McCarthy promised reform - notice a pattern?
The agency learned nothing from renewable energy permitting disasters. Solar projects that should take six months routinely take three years. Wind farms get tied up in court for a decade. Now they want to apply the same broken process to AI infrastructure and somehow expect different results. Offshore wind projects face even worse delays, with Vineyard Wind taking 8 years from proposal to approval.
What Actually Needs to Happen (But Won't)
Actual permitting reform requires Congress rewriting the National Environmental Policy Act, not EPA administrators holding roundtables. It means federal preemption of state and local reviews for critical infrastructure. It means telling environmental groups they can't delay national security projects with frivolous lawsuits. Joe Manchin's permitting bill attempted some of these fixes but died in committee.
None of that will happen because it requires political courage nobody in Washington possesses. So instead we get Lee Zeldin promising to "streamline processes" while maintaining all the regulations that make those processes slow in the first place.
What I want to know is how many more AI companies will build their next data centers in Ireland or Singapore before someone in government figures out that permits in other countries don't take longer than Olympic cycles.
The Predictable Industry Response
Of course tech companies are praising Zeldin's initiative - they've been complaining about permitting delays for years. But notice what they're not doing: betting their own money on faster approvals. AWS is still building their next mega data center in Ireland, not Iowa. Microsoft chose Sweden over Pennsylvania. Google picked Finland over North Dakota.
The industry knows the difference between political theater and actual reform. They'll take the meetings, issue supportive press releases, and keep building critical infrastructure in countries where governments understand that permits shouldn't take longer than the construction itself.
The Uncomfortable Truth
Here's what nobody wants to admit: this permitting problem isn't new, and it's not getting fixed by roundtables. Obama promised permitting reform. Trump promised it. Biden's promising it. Now Zeldin's promising it. The only constant is that American infrastructure projects keep taking longer while our competitors move faster.
The AI race won't wait for American bureaucracy to catch up. While we're debating streamlined processes, China's already building the future. And every month we spend in committee meetings is another month they get ahead in the only competition that actually matters for the next century.
Zeldin's heart might be in the right place, but good intentions don't build data centers. And until someone in Washington figures out that national security infrastructure needs national security urgency, we'll keep losing this race one permit at a time. The Pentagon's own facilities face the same bureaucratic obstacles, with military construction projects averaging 3-5 years from approval to completion.