Lawmakers are welcoming Meta's policy changes as they gain favor with President-elect Trump, but some pushback is brewing, Maria reports.

Why it matters: Members from both sides of the aisle have blasted Mark Zuckerberg in the past for harmful content online, particularly for children, and these tensions could shape legislative efforts on the Hill this year.

Driving the news: Rep. Pablo José Hernández of Puerto Rico, a former Meta employee, is demanding answers from Meta following the decision to get rid of content moderators.

• In a letter shared exclusively with Axios, Hernández noted he defended Meta's fact checking program when he worked there as a public policy manager.
• Hernández asks Zuckerberg to explain his previous statement that the fact checking program "is working and people find value in the warning screens we apply to content after a fact-checking partner has rated it."
• Hernández also digs into how the new community notes approach would work, asking if Meta will continue to use warnings for content flagged as false, label it or demote it.
• The lawmaker asks whether community notes would apply to posts from political figures and government officials and how Meta would ensure Spanish-language disinformation is not exacerbated.

Between the lines: Meta had previously touted the effectiveness of its content moderation practices as lawmakers raised concerns over the platform's impact on marginalized communities and elections.

• The policies that were in place weren't enough, according to some lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, who wanted platforms like Facebook and Instagram to be held legally liable for third-party content.

Republican champions of protecting kids online are split on Zuckerberg's decision.

• Sen. Marsha Blackburn, co-sponsor of the Kids Online Safety Act, posted that Meta's decision "is a ploy to avoid being regulated. We will not be fooled."

House Energy and Commerce tech subcommittee Chair Gus Bilirakis said Meta's announcement "was a step in the right direction" that other Big Tech companies will hopefully follow.

• Bilirakis co-sponsored KOSA in the House and told Axios the bill is his top priority in the new Congress.

Flashback: At a blockbuster hearing last year, Sen. Lindsey Graham told Zuckerberg he had "blood on his hands" because of the content on Meta platforms.

• Graham's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

What they're saying: Meta's civil rights advisory group today sent a letter to Zuckerberg expressing "grave concern" that the policy changes "will permit more dangerous and abusive content on its services and undermine the quality of information available to users."

What's next: Zuckerberg is planning to come to D.C. soon to meet with lawmakers, including House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, who has long taken issue with alleged censorship of conservative speech online.

President Biden's plan to build mega-data centers for AI and power them with low-carbon energy doesn't fully resolve questions about natural gas' role in powering AI in a climate-constrained future, our Axios Pro Energy colleagues Nick Sobczyk and Daniel Moore report.

Why it matters: The executive order unveiled this morning is an important marker in the debate about AI's massive power suck and is among the first specific proposals we've seen to address it.

• But it leaves many details to the Trump administration and Hill Republicans.

Driving the news: The order lets Energy and Defense Departments lease out federal land for data centers and seeks to help construction and interconnection of clean energy to power them.

Between the lines: Some other important details will be left to President-elect Trump — if he keeps the order in place.

• For instance, it directs the Energy Department, Interior Department and other agencies to adopt categorical exclusions under NEPA that could be relevant to AI, clean power or transmission within 120 days.
• The Trump transition didn't immediately respond to request for comment.

What they're saying: Rep. Chuck Fleischmann said that in his discussion with incoming Trump officials, they're all in on powering these data centers with nuclear and gas.

• "There's absolutely no question whatsoever that ... these smaller reactors will be ideal for these AI centers because of their voracious need for energy," the chair of the House Appropriations panel funding DOE told Nick this morning.

The big picture: The implications of this EO could ripple through the power sector.

• For geothermal, it includes categorical exclusions and other permit expediting provisions similar to what the industry has long sought from Congress.
• And it requires plans from agencies on how to deploy new nuclear.

What's next: Congress really hasn't focused on AI power use in any substantive way. Right now, that conversation usually turns back to bringing more power onto the grid via a permitting overhaul.

• "The [tech] companies are finding out they've got to have the baseload if they want to go inside the meter," Rep. Bob Latta told Nick.

If you need smart, quick intel on energy and climate policy for your job, get Axios Pro Energy Policy.

🤖 AI meets IP: The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is out with a new strategy today aimed at guiding AI efforts at USPTO and across the broader IP ecosystem.

• "AI can be an important tool both for invention and for patent applications, but one that cannot be left unchecked," the foreword says.

📱 TikTok watch: "China Weighs Sale of TikTok US to Musk as a Possible Option," per Bloomberg.

• "We cannot be expected to comment on pure fiction," TikTok spokesperson Michael Hughes told Axios in response to the report.
• And here's what could happen to TikTok on Jan. 19, per our Axios colleague Angrej Singh.

💰 CHIPS cash: MACOM Technology Solutions — which produces semiconductors that are key to defense and telecoms applications — is set to receive up to $70 million in direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act, the Commerce Department announced today.

• The proposed money would help support the expansion and modernization of the company's facilities in Lowell, Massachusetts, and Durham, North Carolina.

📢 Tech hubs: Commerce's Economic Development Administration also announced today that it plans to award approximately $210 million in implementation grants to six Tech Hub Designees as part of a new round of funding from the annual defense policy bill.

💼 Personnel chatter: "President-elect Donald Trump is considering Washington trade lawyer Jeffrey Kessler to lead the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security," Reuters reports.

• Plus, the Washington Post reports that Marc Andreessen has been recruiting candidates for positions across the upcoming administration.