Full Breakdown
Trump Pushes Permanent Daylight Saving Time, Targets Sen. Tom Cotton
By Drooid · · How we work
The Senate Standoff Over the Sunshine Protection Act
President Donald Trump intensified his campaign to make daylight-saving time permanent by posting Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton’s personal cellphone number on Truth Social on Saturday, urging Arkansans to call Cotton and pressure him to support the Sunshine Protection Act. The bill, which cleared the House in July, now faces a Senate deadlock as the chamber approaches its lame-duck session.
Legislative Background
The Sunshine Protection Act would eliminate the twice-annual clock change established by the 1966 Uniform Time Act. The House approved the measure by a bipartisan 308-117 vote in July. Earlier attempts in the 1970s were repealed after public backlash over dark winter mornings. Proponents say permanent daylight-saving time would add evening daylight for recreation and commerce; opponents cite safety and health concerns tied to later winter sunrises.
Vote Count and Legislative Status
- House passage: 308-117 (July) – bipartisan support.
- Senate: No floor vote yet. Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) says there is “no clear path forward,” and several Republican senators oppose the bill, making the 60-vote threshold uncertain before the session ends.
Official Statements & Responses
- President Trump called the change “commonsense,” saying the clock shift “costs our Country a fortune” and would benefit “sports, tourism, restaurants and retail.” He framed Cotton’s opposition as a personal blockage of a bipartisan win.
- Senate Majority Leader John Thune told Politico the president feels strongly on the issue but noted procedural hurdles.
- Senator Tom Cotton warned that permanent daylight-saving time would produce “absurdly late sunrises,” harming Arkansas families.
- Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) highlighted safety concerns for children riding school buses in northern and rural states.
Opposition and Safety Concerns
Cotton cites the 1974 repeal of a year-round daylight-saving experiment after reports of increased traffic accidents involving children in the dark. Wicker expands the safety argument to other northern states, noting early-morning darkness could endanger commuters and schoolchildren. Health experts argue permanent daylight-saving time could disrupt circadian rhythms, affecting sleep, mood, and productivity.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
Sources differ on the Senate’s procedural timeline. While Trump claims the bill would “help the PGA Tour” and generate revenue for the golf industry, no independent analysis substantiates those projections. The exact number of Republican senators opposed remains unclear, with statements from Thune, Wicker, and Cotton suggesting a fragmented consensus.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Almost everybody wants ‘The Sunshine Protection Act’ to pass, except for Tom Cotton,” — Donald Trump
- “No one likes changing the clock, me included, but Congress has enacted permanent Daylight Savings Time multiple times before and repealed it each time once Americans experienced absurdly late sunrises in the winter,” — Sen. Tom Cotton
- “The president feels strongly on it like he does a lot of issues,” — Majority Leader John Thune
- “I think there’s more opposition to it than the president realizes. There’s some real safety concerns, particularly in the more northern and rural states where children get on the school bus at very early hours,” — Sen. Roger Wicker
What’s Next
Senate leaders say any vote on the Sunshine Protection Act would have to occur during the lame-duck session in November-December, after the midterm elections. The outcome will depend on whether enough Republican senators join the handful who have publicly supported the bill, such as Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), or whether opposition from Cotton, Wicker, and others persists. The issue is expected to remain a point of contention as the Senate finalizes its post-election agenda.