Trump Presses Senate to Pass Permanent Daylight Saving Time Bill

President Trump on Wednesday called on Congress to pass the Sunshine Protection Act, a bill that would make daylight saving time permanent, after what he called the day's "ridiculous" early sunset ¹. Daylight saving time ended Sunday, November 1, when clocks were turned back one hour at 2 a.m. local time ².

In a post on Truth Social, Trump complained that the Senate had not yet approved the Sunshine Protection Act, which he referred to as the "I Don't Want to Change My Clocks Anymore Act" ¹. He added: "It's so dark outside, so early (Sunset was 5:06 P.M., and it was dark by 5:31 P.M. — Isn't that ridiculous?). Just a few days ago it was so nice and sunny at this same time" ¹.

The House passed the bill on July 14, 2026, by a vote of 308-117, and it was sent to the Senate, where it was referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on July 15 ². The Senate has not advanced the legislation to a floor vote ². Republican Representative Vern Buchanan of Florida introduced the latest version, H.R. 139, in January 2025 ².

Trump said he had held back on the issue before the election. "I didn't want to make a big deal out of this prior to the Election because I didn't want to have certain Senators lose their Race, in a landslide, but it is too bad they can't get it done," he wrote ¹. He did not identify which senators he meant ². He concluded: "We have far bigger priorities, but I will keep fighting for this" ¹.

From Channel GOPTrump on pardoning officials: "I'd be allowed toDonald Trump · 201 plays · captioned, with the source named

Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, has been a vocal opponent of the legislation ¹. He argued on X in October that while "no one likes changing the clock, me included," Congress has made daylight saving time permanent before and repealed it "once Americans experienced absurdly late sunrises in the winter" ¹. Cotton also said Arkansans "don't want their kids going to school in the pitch dark, and I'll always put Arkansas first" ².

Representatives Mary Gay Scanlon, Democrat of Pennsylvania, and Pat Harrigan, Republican of North Carolina, introduced the Sunshine for Our Kids Act to establish permanent standard time, the time seen from November to March ¹. They noted that more sunlight in the evenings would leave mornings dark for children going to school and commuters leaving for work ¹.

An AP-NORC poll released last month found that 12 percent of U.S. adults favor the twice-a-year change and 47 percent oppose it, with 40 percent indifferent ¹. Fifty-six percent said they prefer year-round daylight saving time, and 42 percent prefer standard daylight time all year ¹.

Under current federal law, daylight saving time begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November ². In 2026, it ran from March 8 until November 1, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which maintains official U.S. time references ². Hawaii and most of Arizona do not observe daylight saving time, and neither do Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands ².

The U.S. Department of Transportation oversees the nation's time zones and compliance with daylight saving time dates, but it does not have the authority to abolish the practice or make it permanent; that would require congressional action ². Under the Uniform Time Act of 1966, states can opt out of daylight saving time by adopting permanent standard time, but they cannot independently choose permanent daylight saving time ².

That matters because the bill still needs Senate approval and the president's signature before federal rules could change ². Unless Congress acts, Americans will continue changing their clocks twice a year ². Trump has until January to push the measure through a Senate that has not scheduled a vote ².

The Record

1. Jan 1, 2025Republican Representative Vern Buchanan of Florida introduced the latest version of the Sunshine Protection Act, H.R. 139, in January 2025 ².
2. Jul 14, 2026The House passed the Sunshine Protection Act by a vote of 308-117 ².
3. Jul 15, 2026The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation ².
4. Nov 1, 2026Daylight saving time ended at 2 a.m. local time as clocks were turned back one hour ².

Free to reprint Republish this story on your site or in your newsletter

Any site, blog or newsletter may run this story free of charge. Keep the credit line and its link to the original, do not sell it, and edit only for length or house style (the full terms). Photos carry their own licenses, noted under each photo on this page, so use the text alone unless a credit says otherwise.

<h2>Trump Presses Senate to Pass Permanent Daylight Saving Time Bill</h2> <p><em>By The GOP Files Capitol Desk. This article first appeared on <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/trump-presses-senate-to-pass-permanent-daylight-saving-time-bill">The GOP Files</a> on Thursday, November 5, 2026.</em></p> <p>President Trump on Wednesday called on Congress to pass the Sunshine Protection Act, a bill that would make daylight saving time permanent, after what he called the day&#39;s &quot;ridiculous&quot; early sunset . Daylight saving time ended Sunday, November 1, when clocks were turned back one hour at 2 a.m. local time .</p> <p>In a post on Truth Social, Trump complained that the Senate had not yet approved the Sunshine Protection Act, which he referred to as the &quot;I Don&#39;t Want to Change My Clocks Anymore Act&quot; . He added: &quot;It&#39;s so dark outside, so early (Sunset was 5:06 P.M., and it was dark by 5:31 P.M. — Isn&#39;t that ridiculous?). Just a few days ago it was so nice and sunny at this same time&quot; .</p> <p>The House passed the bill on July 14, 2026, by a vote of 308-117, and it was sent to the Senate, where it was referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on July 15 . The Senate has not advanced the legislation to a floor vote . Republican Representative Vern Buchanan of Florida introduced the latest version, H.R. 139, in January 2025 .</p> <p>Trump said he had held back on the issue before the election. &quot;I didn&#39;t want to make a big deal out of this prior to the Election because I didn&#39;t want to have certain Senators lose their Race, in a landslide, but it is too bad they can&#39;t get it done,&quot; he wrote . He did not identify which senators he meant . He concluded: &quot;We have far bigger priorities, but I will keep fighting for this&quot; .</p> <p>Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, has been a vocal opponent of the legislation . He argued on X in October that while &quot;no one likes changing the clock, me included,&quot; Congress has made daylight saving time permanent before and repealed it &quot;once Americans experienced absurdly late sunrises in the winter&quot; . Cotton also said Arkansans &quot;don&#39;t want their kids going to school in the pitch dark, and I&#39;ll always put Arkansas first&quot; .</p> <p>Representatives Mary Gay Scanlon, Democrat of Pennsylvania, and Pat Harrigan, Republican of North Carolina, introduced the Sunshine for Our Kids Act to establish permanent standard time, the time seen from November to March . They noted that more sunlight in the evenings would leave mornings dark for children going to school and commuters leaving for work .</p> <p>An AP-NORC poll released last month found that 12 percent of U.S. adults favor the twice-a-year change and 47 percent oppose it, with 40 percent indifferent . Fifty-six percent said they prefer year-round daylight saving time, and 42 percent prefer standard daylight time all year .</p> <p>Under current federal law, daylight saving time begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November . In 2026, it ran from March 8 until November 1, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which maintains official U.S. time references . Hawaii and most of Arizona do not observe daylight saving time, and neither do Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands .</p> <p>The U.S. Department of Transportation oversees the nation&#39;s time zones and compliance with daylight saving time dates, but it does not have the authority to abolish the practice or make it permanent; that would require congressional action . Under the Uniform Time Act of 1966, states can opt out of daylight saving time by adopting permanent standard time, but they cannot independently choose permanent daylight saving time .</p> <p>That matters because the bill still needs Senate approval and the president&#39;s signature before federal rules could change . Unless Congress acts, Americans will continue changing their clocks twice a year . Trump has until January to push the measure through a Senate that has not scheduled a vote .</p> <p><em>Read the original, with every source linked, at <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/trump-presses-senate-to-pass-permanent-daylight-saving-time-bill">thegopfiles.com</a>. Republished under The GOP Files' <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/republish">free republishing terms</a>.</em></p> <img src="https://thegopfiles.com/api/rp/trump-presses-senate-to-pass-permanent-daylight-saving-time-bill.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border:0;width:1px;height:1px">

Copy the HTML Paste it into your editor's HTML view. The one-pixel image at the end tells our newsroom the story ran; it stores no reader data.

Sources

1. The Hill, “Trump urges Congress to pass daylight saving bill after 'ridiculous' early sunset” (2026-11-05). thehill.com/homenews/administration/6199783-trump-calls-cong
2. Newsweek, “Trump Reveals Why He Paused Senate Debate on Daylight Saving Time” (2026-11-05). newsweek.com/daylight-saving-time-permanent-donald-trump-sen

Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.