Senate weighs sweeping energy legislation in first major action since midterm elections

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Monday is set to take up bipartisan legislation aimed at speeding up permitting reviews for data centers and other infrastructure projects, in the first major action since last week’s election that soundly repudiated President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans.

The Senate is expected to hold a procedural vote on the bill, which senators and the president have pushed as officials seek to meet growing demand for electricity and other forms of energy that now faces yearslong delays in getting to the grid.

The legislation’s sweeping changes would shorten the timeline to get big energy projects started — both for clean energy and fossil fuel projects — and make sure data centers pay for the energy they use. Anger over artificial intelligence data centers and rising electricity helped usher in a wave of Democrats pledging to clamp down on the massive, energy-hungry structures.

Trump urged senators to vote for it, calling it a “BIG WIN for U.S. ENERGY INDEPENDENCE and DOMINANCE.” in a social media post on Sunday. The bill will “ensure that we can build Pipelines, Mines, and Power Plants faster than ever before, lowering Energy Costs for American Families,” Trump wrote.

Major industry groups representing developers in clean energy and in the oil and gas sector also support the bill.

However, many environmental organizations have panned the deal because they say it would lock in fossil fuel development, weaken environmental safeguards and make it harder for communities to challenge energy project approvals.

While the bill has received bipartisan support, the Democrats' sweeping midterm win could complicate its passage.

Some Democrats say the party should use its stronger position in the next Congress to pass legislation that produces needed clean energy but limits expansion of oil, natural gas and mining. Some critics have said the permitting bill as proposed could lead to a vast increase in exports of liquefied natural gas and facilitate a “reckless” build-out of data centers powered by natural gas.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat who is expected to become speaker in January, criticized the bill last week, with his office saying it “falls short” in a number of areas.

Major environmental groups, including the Sierra Club and National Wildlife Federation, have strongly opposed the measure in recent days, citing concerns about its limits on judicial review and changes to the landmark National Environmental Policy Act. The 1970 law requires agencies to consider a project’s possible impacts and allows the public to be heard before a project is approved, but supporters of an overhaul say that causes yearslong delays in federal permitting.

The bill's four main champions — two Democrats and two Republicans — released a detailed set of amendments Saturday designed to bolster support for the legislation.

The four senators, who lead the chamber’s energy and environment panels, negotiated the deal weeks before the election. Republican Sens. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Mike Lee of Utah and Democratic Sens. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island say Americans are tired of paying more in utility bills while projects that could lower costs sit stuck in the planning phase for years.

"Americans can’t afford to wait for lower electricity prices. We need to pass this bill now,” said Heinrich.

Trump promotes expanding production of oil, natural gas and coal and he particularly dislikes offshore wind. His administration has been paying energy companies to walk away from offshore wind projects under development. It has spent nearly $4 billion on such settlements.

Whitehouse said a provision in the permitting bill would end the buyouts, so the administration will no longer be able to use public money to pay clean energy developers to relinquish wind energy leases and oblige them to invest in fossil fuels instead.

At a press conference with Heinrich on Monday, Whitehouse said the bill is “the floor, not the ceiling, of our climate and environmental aspirations. And we look forward to working to accomplish big things with our big Democratic majorities” next year.

Heinrich said he worked hard to incorporate feedback from tribal leaders on the initial proposal, adding that the amended version requires federal agencies to consult with tribes on projects that affect important cultural sites.

Sponsors also extended the window for objections to agency reports and strengthened opportunities for states to weigh in, Heinrich said.

If passed, the bill will save households billions on electricity costs, create jobs, cut emissions and force big corporations to pay their full share for data centers instead of pushing energy costs on consumers, he said.

McDermott reported from Providence, R.I.

FILE - Meta data centers operate Sept. 5, 2026, near Social Circle, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)

FILE - Ranking member Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill, June 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., walks through the Capitol basement, Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., speaks at a news conference in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

The Capitol is seen under a gray autumn sky in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — More than 20 people died while attempting to reach Greece from North Africa over the past three days, with the Greek coast guard recovering 13 bodies from a boat carrying migrants south of Crete early Monday after eight bodies were found in another boat over the weekend.

More than 180 other people were rescued Monday morning from three boats crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa to Crete after they were spotted by the European Union’s border agency Frontex. They were the latest in a steady number of boats traveling from Libya to Greece, a crossing that has become one of the main migration routes to Europe.

“Rising arrivals along the eastern Libya–Crete route this year, coupled with gaps in search and rescue capacity, are heightening humanitarian concerns over the risks faced by people making the journey,” said the United Nations' International Organization for Migration, or IOM.

In Monday's incident, the coast guard said a passing Moroccan-flagged cargo ship picked up 18 people from the boat on which 13 bodies — those of 12 men and one woman — were found. One of those rescued was later confirmed dead at a health center in Crete, while another three — a man, a woman and a minor — were transported to a hospital on the island.

There was no immediate information available on the identities or nationalities of those on board or what had caused the deaths of the 14 people. The boat was found about 15 nautical miles (about 28 kilometers or 18 miles) south of the southern Greek island of Crete early Monday.

In a separate incident, the coast guard said 28 Sudanese nationals were rescued overnight Saturday after their boat ran into trouble in bad weather about 6 nautical miles (11 kilometers or 7 miles) south of Crete. Eight bodies were recovered and two people were reported missing.

Greece is one of the main entry points into the 27-nation EU for people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. In recent months, thousands have been making the perilous sea crossing from North Africa, usually from Libya to Crete. Others make the far shorter but often equally dangerous crossing from the Turkish coast to nearby Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, often in unseaworthy inflatable dinghies or other small boats.

Last month, 12 people, including an infant, died when the two boats they were traveling in from Turkey to the islands of Lesbos and Samos capsized.

Frontex said in October that the eastern Mediterranean was the busiest route for migrants attempting to enter the EU, although irregular border crossings into the bloc were down by a third so far this year.

The agency said that around 31, 800 crossings were recorded in the first three quarters of 2026, a fall of 15% compared with the same period last year. The corridor from Libya to Crete was the busiest section on the route, ahead of the eastern Aegean islands and the land border with Turkey.

Migrants stand on the deck of a Frontex vessel as it approaches the port of Kaloi Limenes on the Greek island of Crete, Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, following a rescue operation. (Stefanos Rapanis/Eurokinissi via AP)

Migrants gather on a pier after being brought ashore following a rescue operation off the Greek island of Crete, at the port of Kaloi Limenes, Monday, Nov. 9, 2026. (Stefanos Rapanis/Eurokinissi via AP)

Migrants gather on a pier after being brought ashore following a rescue operation off the Greek island of Crete, at the port of Kaloi Limenes, Monday, Nov. 9, 2026. (Stefanos Rapanis/Eurokinissi via AP)

Rescue workers carry the bodies of migrants from a Coast Guard vessel at the port of Agia Galini, on the Greek island of Crete, Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, after 12 people were found dead aboard a boat south of the island and 18 others were rescued. (Stefanos Rapanis/Eurokinissi via AP)

Rescue workers carry the bodies of migrants from a Coast Guard vessel at the port of Agia Galini, on the Greek island of Crete, Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, after 12 people were found dead aboard a boat south of the island and 18 others were rescued. (Stefanos Rapanis/Eurokinissi via AP)

Rescue workers carry the bodies of migrants from a Coast Guard vessel at the port of Agia Galini, on the Greek island of Crete, Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, after 12 people were found dead aboard a boat south of the island and 18 others were rescued. (Stefanos Rapanis/Eurokinissi via AP)

FILE - Migrants who arrived recently at the island of Crete, despite a suspension of asylum claims and plans for tougher detention rules, are being held under guard at a temporary shelter in the village of Agia, near Chania city, on the island of Crete, southern Greece, Aug. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Giannis Angelakis File)