Trump Calls For End To Daylight Savings Time

President-elect Donald Trump has made an announcement about one thing he will attempt to quickly accomplish that has wide bipartisan support.

In a Truth Social post late last week, the incoming 47th president said he and the GOP “will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn’t!”

“Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation,” he added.

The president-elect’s announcement was discussed by the Fox & Friends weekend crew on Sunday.

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Advocates for ending the March and November time changes argue that the biannual shifts of “spring forward” and “fall back” disrupt sleep patterns and have a negative impact on both mental and physical health.

In 2022, the Senate unanimously passed a bill to establish permanent daylight saving time. The Sunshine Protection Act was introduced by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) — Trump’s pick to lead the State Department — but the legislation was never introduced in the then-Democrat-controlled House.

Rubio reintroduced the Sunshine Protection Act last year, and Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) introduced his own version of the bill in the House. However, the New York Post reported that both measures languished in committees.

“This ritual of changing time twice a year is stupid,” the Florida Republican senator said at the time, noting that  “locking the clock has overwhelming bipartisan and popular support.” A 2021 AP-NORC poll found that 75 percent of Americans are against seasonal time adjustments.

“It’s time to lock the clock and stop enduring the ridiculous and antiquated practice of switching our clocks back and forth. Let’s finally pass my Sunshine Protection Act and end the need to ‘fall back’ and ‘spring forward’ for good,” Rubio added.

Arizona and Hawaii are the only states that remain on standard time year-round, without observing daylight saving time.

The practice of daylight saving time dates back to World War I, when the Standard Time Act of 1918 was passed to help conserve energy for the war effort.

Entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who were chosen by Trump to improve government efficiency, have expressed their support for eliminating the biannual clock changes.

“Looks like the people want to abolish the annoying time changes!” Musk wrote on X last month. Ramaswamy replied, “It’s inefficient & easy to change.”

“There are enormous health and economic benefits to making daylight saving time permanent. Florida lawmakers have already voted to make daylight saving time permanent in my home state and Congress should pass the Sunshine Protection Act to move Florida and the rest of the country to year-round daylight saving time,” Florida  Rep. Vern Buchanan said.

“Twice a year Oklahomans ask themselves—why do we still have to change our clocks? Last year, the Senate unanimously passed the Sunshine Protection Act, but the House never even voted on the bill. Every Mom of young children hates this time of year when alarm clocks change, but baby’s clocks don’t. It is past time to get this bill to the President’s desk so we can take the stress, headaches, and annoying twice-a-year reset of the clocks out of our lives. It’s time to lock the clocks,”’ Republican Sen. James Lankford noted.

“Over the years, I’ve fought and won to extend daylight saving time—adding two months’ worth of sun to the American people’s calendar. It’s past time for Congress to broaden its horizons and finally make daylight saving time permanent. With the Sunshine Protection Act, we can shine a light on the darkest days of the year and deliver more sun, more smiles, and brighter skies,” Democrat Sen. Ed Markey noted.

“It’s time to put a stop to the twice-a-year time-change madness. Science and common sense show that more year-round daylight would improve our health, help kids spend a bit more time enjoying outdoor after school activities, and encourage folks to support local businesses while on a sunny stroll in their communities,” Democrat Sen. Ron Wyden added.