Trump Pushes Senate on Daylight Savings: How Timeline for Change Looks

0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. President Donald Trump is pressing the Senate to end America's twice-yearly clock changes, urging lawmakers to pass legislation that would make daylight saving time permanent.

In a Truth Social post overnight, Trump called on the Senate to pass the “NO MORE CHANGING THE CLOCKS ACT,” arguing that more daylight in the evening could help fight crime while again criticizing the practice of changing clocks twice a year.

The renewed push comes after the House passed the Sunshine Protection Act, H.R. 139, by a bipartisan 308-117 vote on July 14. The bill would make daylight saving time permanent across most of the country.

H.R. 139 was sent to the Senate on July 15 and referred to the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.

The Senate is currently in recess and is scheduled to return on September 14.

H.R. 139 could be passed by unanimous consent if no senator objects, but if it faces an objection, Senate rules generally require 60 votes to overcome a filibuster and advance the legislation to a final vote.

There is already opposition. Senator Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas, has argued against permanent daylight saving time, warning that winter mornings would become darker for children and workers in parts of the country. Cotton spoke against the Sunshine Protection Act on the Senate floor in October 2025.

Other senators who have voted against permanent DST include Ted Budd, Deb Fischer, Jerry Moran, Tim Sheehy, Dan Sullivan, Roger Wicker and Todd Young on the Republican side, and Lisa Blunt Rochester, Tammy Duckworth, Amy Klobuchar, Gary Peters and Jacky Rosen among Democrats , as reported by CBS News.

Newsweek contacted representatives for Cotton via email Sunday for comment.

The House-passed version of H.R. 139 does not include a delayed effective date. If the Senate passes the bill without changes and President Trump signs it before November 1, it could prevent the scheduled return to standard time and make daylight saving time permanent.

That gives the Senate 48 days after returning from recess to act. Any amendments would make the timetable tighter because the House would then have to consider the Senate's changes.

If the Senate does not pass the legislation in time, the current law remains in effect and clocks will move back one hour on November 1.

Trump has repeatedly called for an end to the twice-yearly clock change. In April 2025, he urged both chambers of Congress to push for “more Daylight at the end of a day” and said eliminating the clock changes was popular.

The House vote gives him a fresh opportunity to push the issue, with the measure attracting support from both Republicans and Democrats.

Additionally, the push could give Trump an opportunity to deliver on a popular issue ahead of the midterms. As previously reported by Newsweek , Trump has also claimed passing the Sunshine Protection Act could help reduce murder and robbery rates.

But the proposal has also divided lawmakers over which time should be permanent. Supporters argue that permanent daylight saving time would provide more usable evening light, while opponents such as Cotton have warned about darker winter mornings.

There is also a precedent for the Senate moving quickly on the issue. In March 2022, senators passed an earlier version of the Sunshine Protection Act by unanimous consent. It was subsequently sent to the House, where it stalled without receiving a final vote.

This time, the House has already acted. The question now is whether the Senate will do the same before Americans are due to change their clocks again.

In most of the United States, DST starts on the second Sunday in March, when clocks are moved forward by one hour at 2 a.m. This shifts an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening. DST ends on the first Sunday in November, when clocks are turned back by one hour and standard time resumes.

The practice is governed by federal law, although states and territories are not required to observe DST. Hawaii and most of Arizona do not observe it, though the Navajo Nation in Arizona does. Several U.S. territories, including Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, also remain on standard time throughout the year.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Ben Kelly and and Cristina Diciu.

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