Trump pushes Senate Republicans to make daylight saving time permanent - USA Today

President Donald Trump ramped up pressure on Senate Republicans to support legislation that would make daylight saving time permanent, effectively ending the twice-yearly clock change.

In a lengthy Truth Social post on Friday, Oct. 2, Trump challenged "Republicans in the Senate" and singled out Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, for apparently holding up the bipartisan Sunshine Protection Act, which the president has dubbed the “No More Changing of Clocks Act.”

“A ridiculous Clock changing process that takes place twice a year, costs our Country a fortune, is bad for Crime, stress on people, Sports, and just about everything else you can imagine,” Trump said.

The president added that Cotton was holding up the passage of the legislation “for reasons unknown.”

“People don’t want to go around changing their Clocks anymore and, besides, far and away, most people like having an hour of extra sunlight in the evening, rather than in the morning,” the president added.

The Sunshine Protection Act passed the House of Representatives in July with a 301-117 vote, but has since failed to clear the Senate, the last step before landing on Trump’s desk for final sign-off.

USA TODAY contacted Cotton's office for comment on Oct. 2, and was referred to his October 2025 floor speech on the matter.

Cotton has long been one of the strongest opponents of permanent daylight saving time, saying that the change would bring later winter sunrises, leaving children going to school and millions of Americans traveling to work in the dark.

“If permanent daylight saving time becomes the law of the land, it will again make winter a dark and dismal time for millions of Americans,” he said in October 2025.

Sleep and health researchers generally agree that switching clocks twice annually can disrupt the body's circadian rhythm and affect sleep patterns. But many experts argue that permanent standard time, not permanent daylight saving time, would be healthier because it better aligns with the body's natural clock.

No. While most Americans change their clocks twice a year, some states and U.S. territories already stay on standard time year-round, including:

USA TODAY’s Saman Shafiq contributed to this report.

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.