Kris Mayes wants to be many things. The governor. The center of attention. A policymaker.

But she is none of those. As Attorney General, her role is limited. She was elected to enforce the law, not make it.

That’s why it’s so disturbing when she steers out of her lane to opine on matters beyond her scope, telling the governor and Legislature what she thinks they should do.

But there is one thing Kris Mayes consistently is: WRONG.

And her recent call to “pause” new data center construction is not only unfounded, but harmful to every citizen and our country.

The United States is in an existential race against China for AI. And while Americans oppose projects, China is building. China currently ranks fourth globally in total data centers and is racing to construct thousands more.

The Pentagon reports that China wants to use AI to achieve “mind dominance” over the United States, exerting psychological pressure, fear, and social polarization to weaken American resistance to Chinese actions.

U.S. counterintelligence says China has used AI to steal more Americans’ personal and business data than every other nation combined, using that data to weaken our social and economic fabric.

The Pentagon reports that China has developed AI-enabled drone swarms that can target and execute attacks, while the NSA says China is pre-positioned inside U.S. infrastructure for “disruptive or destructive cyberattacks.”

Imagine the worst-case scenario: Chinese AI so sophisticated that it can find vulnerabilities across millions of connected American vehicles, energy systems, and other devices, compromise them simultaneously, and create mass hysteria, disruption, and fear, crippling our economy and society.

AI capability requires enormous computing power, and that requires AI infrastructure like data centers.

This threat is why American leaders from across the political spectrum have urged the country to support the rapid buildout of new AI infrastructure, including data centers.

President Biden ordered the federal government to accelerate domestic AI construction because America’s national security required building AI infrastructure on the “time frame needed” to stay ahead.

Vice President Kamala Harris said America needed “large-scale data centers” and that the government should use its full power to “speed up and scale AI operations here in the United States.”

Arizona Senator Mark Kelly warned that if America fails “to lead the world in AI,” then China will, and “we will fall behind.”

And President Trump’s Artificial Intelligence Czar, David Sacks, has said: “To remain the leading economic and military power, the United States must win the AI race.”

Domestic data center buildout is not a partisan issue. It is a national security imperative.

China understands the stakes too and is attempting to manipulate America’s debate over the infrastructure needed to win.

While China races to build its own compute capacity, it uses covert influence operations to encourage Americans to stop building ours.

OpenAI recently uncovered a covert China-linked influence operation that used AI to impersonate Americans and manufacture social media attacks on U.S. data centers, including claims that they were driving up families’ electricity bills.

Then X uncovered a Chinese bot network of roughly 200,000 fake accounts, including hundreds targeting America’s AI and energy debate. Congress has now formally asked federal investigators to examine foreign-adversary efforts to obstruct American data center construction.

President Trump has called data centers the “Golden Goose,” warning that communities that reject them will become “backward and poor,” while those that embrace them can become “successful and rich, with far lower taxes and jobs all over the place.”

Here’s what that means:

First, data centers are not taking your water and power.

Most new data centers in Arizona are moving away from water-intensive cooling, using closed-loop systems that recycle water, while others use dry cooling that requires almost no water.

Meanwhile, the Arizona Corporation Commission, electric utilities, and the state Legislature have taken steps to ensure data centers pay for their grid upgrades so costs are not shifted to existing customers.

Then there are jobs, taxes, and infrastructure.

Labor unions across the country support rapid data center construction because these projects create good-paying jobs and years of work for electricians, pipefitters, plumbers, welders, and other building trades.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers opposes restrictions on data center construction because “data centers are not just steel and servers—they are job creators.” IBEW calls them a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” for family-sustaining employment and warns that pausing construction would eliminate thousands of good-paying union jobs.

The Pipefitters likewise support data centers, saying they create thousands of building-trades jobs and allow local unions to expand apprenticeship programs, providing families with good wages, health benefits, and retirement security.

Then comes the tax revenues. A large Arizona data center can generate roughly $10 million in annual property taxes, money that supports schools, police, firefighters, roads, and infrastructure.

In Loudoun County, Virginia, data centers now generate almost half of property-tax revenue, allowing county officials to lower residential property-tax rates.

Arizona’s governor and Legislature have already addressed data center tax incentives this year, passing a bipartisan budget that included a two-year pause on new tax incentive certificates for data centers to ensure they pay their fair share.

Then there’s infrastructure. In El Mirage, Microsoft is building dedicated water and wastewater infrastructure at its own cost, freeing capacity at EPCOR’s facility to support local growth.

Finally, there’s healthcare.

Just last week, AI-guided treatment was linked to longer survival in pancreatic cancer; surgeons used AI in real time to remove a brain tumor while preserving the patient’s sight, and Moderna announced the first successful use of AI to design a personalized vaccine against individual cancer.

These are life-changing medical advancements, all powered by AI and data centers.

These are the facts China and Kris Mayes don’t want you to know.

America First means winning the AI race against China. It means protecting Americans against cost shifts. And it means ensuring that Americans get the benefits of AI infrastructure in their communities.

Telling Arizonans that we must issue a “pause” on data center construction is exactly what China wants.

It is anti-growth, anti-jobs, anti-healthcare, and anti-American.

Kris Mayes’ statements are dangerous and put American lives and livelihoods at risk.

We must build. And our Attorney General must stay in her lane.

Michael Carbone is a Republican member of the Arizona House of Representatives representing Legislative District 25 and serves as House Majority Leader. Follow him on X at @MichaelCarbone.