Donald Trump blamed Tom Cotton for stalling the Sunshine Protection Act and said Americans wanted an end to clock changes
President Donald Trump publicly blamed Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas for stalling legislation that would make daylight saving time permanent. He made the accusation in a lengthy late-night post on Truth Social.
Trump urged Senate Republicans to pass the Sunshine Protection Act, which he has renamed the “No More Changing of Clocks Act.” He said the bill would end what he called the “ridiculous Clock changing process.”
“Unfortunately, it’s being held up by Senator Tom Cotton, of Arkansas, for reasons unknown,” Trump wrote.
He said Americans are tired of changing their clocks. “People are sick and tired of having to change their Clocks twice a year,” he wrote. “Even most farmers would rather have additional time in the evening to harvest their crops. It is foolish, inconvenient and, in some cases, very costly.”
The 385-word post listed benefits Trump said would result from an extra hour of evening sunlight. They included lower robbery and murder rates, fewer pedestrian car accidents and reduced risks of cardiac problems, stroke and seasonal depression. He also cited safer walks home from school for children, more family time and support for extracurricular activities.
Trump added that the change would benefit the sports, fitness, tourism, retail and restaurant industries while reducing energy bills. He said “Leading Medical, Crime and Economic Studies” had shown this “conclusively,” but the passages quoted from the post did not identify those studies.
Trump also wrote that “A recent case was made that it is also bad for your health in the anxiety it creates.”
He closed by saying, “In other words, leave it as it is now and never change it again.” He claimed the idea has a “100% approval rating” and called it an issue Republicans, Democrats and independents can unite behind.
Cotton’s stated objections
Cotton has publicly explained his opposition to the change. In an October 2025 speech on the Senate floor, he said permanent daylight saving time would make winter a “dark and dismal time for millions of Americans.”
“The darkness of permanent Daylight Savings Time would be especially harmful for schoolchildren and working Americans,” Cotton said. “As we saw in 1974, kids would either walk to school in the pitch black or schools would have to push back start times. The choice would be between danger on the one hand and disruption on the other.”
He also raised concerns about people who work outdoors. “Construction workers, farmers and others who rise before the sun or need the sun to work would be penalized,” he said. He added that these workers “might go three, four, even five hours in the morning without seeing the sun,” which he said could affect their quality of life and potentially their safety on the job.
In a separate statement, Cotton said the change would “push winter sunrises to an absurdly late hour.” He had earlier blocked an attempt to pass the bill quickly in the Senate by unanimous consent.
Where the bill stands
The House passed the Sunshine Protection Act 308-117 in July. Twenty-two Republicans and 95 Democrats voted against it. Rep. Vern Buchanan introduced the House bill, while Sen. Rick Scott of Florida sponsored the companion Senate bill in January 2025.
After the House vote, Scott urged the Senate to “take it up NOW and send it to President Trump’s desk.”
The bill has not advanced in the Senate since then. Senate Majority Leader John Thune voted against it at the committee stage and has suggested it may lack the 60 votes needed to pass the chamber.
Cotton is not the only Republican with concerns. Montana Sen. Steve Daines has said the change would hit parents and children in Western states harder because the sun would not rise until around 9:30 a.m. in winter.
A senior Senate aide told reporters after the House vote that Cotton still had concerns. The aide also said several senators from both parties had opposed the Senate version in committee.
In May, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he would “work very hard to see The Sunshine Protection Act signed into Law.”
In August, Trump urged Republican senators to “release their holds.” He wrote that “no Administration has been able to get it properly done, until now,” and asked senators to pass the bill “ASAP.”
That post used language similar to his latest one, including the claim that people are “sick and tired” of changing clocks.
How the debate got here
Daylight saving time was used temporarily during World War I and World War II before becoming an official nationwide system under the Uniform Time Act of 1966. Hawaii and most of Arizona do not observe it.
Under current federal law, states can adopt permanent standard time but cannot adopt permanent daylight saving time without congressional approval.
Congress previously tried year-round daylight saving time. Lawmakers approved it in 1973 during the energy crisis as a two-year trial, but repealed it in 1974 after public opposition. Cotton has cited that episode in his arguments.
In March 2022, the Senate passed an earlier version of the Sunshine Protection Act by unanimous consent. That version stalled in the House.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 19 states have passed laws to adopt permanent daylight saving time if Congress allows it.
The bill has bipartisan support. Secretary of State Marco Rubio co-sponsored it with Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts in 2024 while Rubio was in the Senate. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, held a hearing on the legislation in April 2025. Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island has also spoken in favor of it on the Senate floor.
There is no agreement on which clock the country should keep. A 2025 AP-NORC poll found that many Americans oppose switching clocks twice a year, while also finding disagreement over whether the country should stay on daylight saving time or standard time. A competing proposal, the Sunshine for Our Kids Act, would end the clock changes by making standard time permanent.