Trump’s push for permanent daylight saving time stalls in the U.S. Senate

Efforts to mandate year-round daylight saving time in the United States have stalled in the Senate, despite heavy pressure from President Donald Trump, as Reuters reports. On Friday morning, Trump again called on the Senate to approve the bill that the House of Representatives passed in July by 308-117 votes; the measure would put an end to the twice-yearly clock-changing practice that most of the country has followed since the 1960s.

In a social media post, Trump said that changing the clock twice a year “costs our country a fortune, is bad for crime, stress on people, sports, and just about everything else you can imagine”. But the Senate closed its work this week until after the November 3 congressional elections and has no votes scheduled before then, while standard time returns in the U.S. on November 1.

“It’s dead as disco”, Republican Senator John Kennedy told Reuters about the permanent daylight saving initiative, adding that he does not believe the leadership will bring it to a vote. On the other hand, Republican Senator Rick Scott, one of the bill’s main sponsors, said he remains convinced it can be passed when lawmakers return.

Critics point out that the change would mean the sun rising an hour later on winter mornings, leaving more children going to school and workers going to work before dawn — in some places the sun would not rise until around 9 in the morning at the height of winter.

Supporters say that changing the clocks disrupts sleep, increases workplace injuries and contributes to more road accidents; they argue that keeping the clock an hour ahead all year round would give more light in the evenings and would boost economic activity in the winter months.

If approved, the clocks would no longer return to standard time in 2027, although states could opt out. The U.S. used year-round daylight saving time during the Second World War and brought it back in 1974 to save energy, but it proved deeply unpopular and Congress repealed it that same year.