The Trump administration has stepped in to support one of Elon Musk’s companies in a legal battle over alleged air pollution from a large artificial intelligence data center in the US state of Mississippi.
The Justice Department has asked a court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the NAACP and other groups, which accuse Musk’s xAI unit of operating dozens of natural gas turbines without proper permits. The plaintiffs say the facility, which powers a $20 billion AI data center, is located near homes, schools and churches and is posing serious health risks to nearby communities in northern Mississippi and Memphis.
In its filing late Monday, the department argued that the power plant is essential for running an AI facility that is “critical to the economy” and important for US military needs. It also said the state of Mississippi, not the federal government, had determined that no permit was required for the plant.
A senior Justice Department official said enforcing federal law ultimately rests with the executive branch, not private groups, adding that the move aims to protect national security and support American innovation and energy development.
The case highlights the Trump administration’s push to prioritise artificial intelligence development as part of its broader economic and national security strategy, while easing environmental regulations on businesses.
President Donald Trump has maintained close ties with Musk, who previously led a federal cost-cutting initiative and remains one of his major political and financial supporters.
The legal intervention comes shortly after Musk’s space company SpaceX saw a major stock market debut, further increasing its valuation, partly driven by large federal contracts.
The lawsuit, filed in April, claims that xAI has been running multiple portable gas turbines without required air pollution controls, in violation of the US Clean Air Act, which mandates permits for industrial emissions.
The US Environmental Protection Agency has said it is not directly involved in the case and referred questions to the Justice Department.
Environmental groups strongly criticised the government’s move, calling it an attempt to protect powerful tech companies from accountability. They argue that communities near such facilities are being turned into “sacrifice zones” due to pollution risks.
The NAACP said the Clean Air Act was designed to protect communities from exactly this kind of harm, and warned it would continue legal action to defend environmental justice.
Legal experts have also raised concerns, saying the Justice Department’s intervention could set a precedent for the government to step in and shut down private lawsuits that enforce environmental law.
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, a Republican, defended the project, saying the data center includes a self-sustaining power system designed to avoid raising electricity prices for residents. He said the project complies with federal commitments aimed at protecting ratepayers and boosting investment.
He also said the lawsuit could delay or block what he described as the largest private investment in Mississippi’s history, which has already created thousands of construction jobs and is expected to generate hundreds of permanent positions.
The Justice Department, however, said excessive regulation and private lawsuits could slow down technological progress and harm US energy independence and national security.
The case comes amid growing debate in the US over the environmental impact of rapidly expanding AI data centers, which require massive amounts of electricity and water resources.