Trump Presses Senate to Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent After Midterms

A day after Republicans lost both chambers of Congress, President Donald Trump used a Wednesday evening Truth Social post to demand that the Senate pass the Sunshine Protection Act, the bill that would keep the country on daylight saving time all year.

“It’s so dark outside, so early,” Trump wrote, adding that sunset had come at 5:06 p.m. and it was dark by 5:31 p.m. He called the measure the “I Don’t Want to Change My Clocks Anymore Act” and wrote: “We have far bigger priorities, but I will keep fighting for this!”

Trump also said he had held back on the issue before Tuesday’s vote. “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,” he wrote. He did not name the senators, Newsweek reported.

Stalled in the Senate Commerce Committee

The House passed the bill, H.R. 139 from Florida Republican Rep. Vern Buchanan, on July 14 by a vote of 308-117, according to Newsweek. It was referred to the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee the next day and has not reached a floor vote.

Several Republican senators have opposed it, including Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota and Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, Steve Daines of Montana, Todd Young of Indiana and Bernie Moreno of Ohio, NBC Washington reported. Cotton and Rounds won re-election on Tuesday, according to NBC News projections.

USA Today described the post as a call for Republicans to secure the change while they still control Congress. Democrats take over both chambers in January.

Clocks fell back on Sunday

Daylight saving time ended on Nov. 1, when clocks moved back one hour in every state except Hawaii and most of Arizona. Under current federal law, it begins again on the second Sunday in March unless Congress changes the system.

Sources: Donald Trump on Truth Social, Newsweek, NBC Washington, USA Today.