Trump ramps up pressure on US Republicans to end US clock switching

President Donald Trump on Saturday publicly urged Senate Republicans to approve legislation that would make Daylight Saving Time permanent, singling out Senator Tom Cotton for holding up the measure. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said Cotton was preventing passage of the Sunshine Protection Act and urged Arkansas residents to pressure the senator after publishing what he said was Cotton's phone number. An automated message said the voicemail box for the listed number was full; Cotton's spokesperson and the White House did not respond to requests for comment.

Trump framed the change as broadly popular and argued that more afternoon daylight would be preferable to morning light for activities such as golf, tennis and hunting, and for workers and farmers. He included a letter from PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp supporting the bill and said ending the twice-yearly clock changes would be an easy bipartisan win for Republicans. Trump also disputed Cotton's prior arguments that permanent DST would leave some people beginning winter days in darkness.

Senator Cotton has previously opposed the proposal, saying during a Senate floor speech that farmers, construction workers, commuters and schoolchildren would be disadvantaged if the clocks were not turned back in winter. The campaign to codify year-round DST follows a July House vote that approved the measure by 308-117. Congress briefly tried year-round DST in 1974 during an energy crisis but repealed the measure within a year over safety concerns about children traveling to school before sunrise.

With senators having left Washington and no return scheduled until after the November 3 midterm elections, prospects for a Senate vote are unclear. Some Republicans expressed skepticism that Senate Republican Leader John Thune would bring the bill to the floor before the election; Senator John Kennedy told Reuters the effort was "dead as disco," saying it would have trouble passing. The debate combines political strategy with practical arguments about daily schedules and public safety.