US President Donald Trump has urged the Senate to approve the Sunshine Protection Act, criticising the practice of changing clocks twice a year and expressing concern over early winter sunsets.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump expressed disappointment over the Senate’s failure to pass the legislation, which aims to end seasonal clock adjustments. He also referred to the proposal jokingly as the “I Don’t Want to Change My Clocks Anymore Act”.
Highlighting the early sunset, Trump noted that the sun had set at 5:06pm, with darkness falling by 5:31pm. He questioned the need for such time changes, pointing out that daylight and weather conditions had been more favourable just days earlier.
Trump said he had avoided making the issue a major campaign topic ahead of the midterm elections, claiming he did not want certain senators to face electoral consequences over the matter.
He also criticised the Senate for not taking up the legislation, despite what he described as strong bipartisan support in the House of Representatives, where the bill was approved by 308 votes to 117.
“We have far bigger priorities, but I will keep fighting for this!” Trump added.
The House of Representatives passed the Sunshine Protection Act in July and forwarded it to the Senate, where the legislation has since faced opposition.
The proposed law seeks to make daylight saving time permanent while allowing individual states to opt for permanent standard time instead.
Supporters argue that the measure would provide longer daylight hours during the evening. However, opponents have raised concerns that permanent daylight saving time would result in darker winter mornings, particularly for children travelling to school.
