President Donald Trump is urging Congress to pass legislation that would make daylight-saving time permanent and end twice-yearly clock changes [1].
The proposal seeks to eliminate the biannual shift that disrupts sleep patterns and schedules for millions of Americans. If passed, the U.S. would keep clocks one hour ahead year-round, removing the need to "spring forward" or "fall back."
Trump renewed his push for the change on July 27 and again on Aug. 10 [1, 2]. He said that people are "sick and tired" of changing their clocks [2].
"People are sick and tired of having to change their clocks twice a year [2]. It is foolish, inconvenient, and, in some cases, very costly," Trump said [2].
The legislative path has been uneven. While the House of Representatives previously passed the bill [5], the effort has encountered resistance from members of the GOP in the Senate [3].
Lawmakers are now weighing the bill as the date for the next scheduled change approaches. Under current rules, daylight-saving time ends and clocks fall back on Nov. 1, 2026 [4]. A Senate vote on the permanent shift could occur before that date [4].
Trump has previously described the practice of shifting time as "stuff" that should be removed [1]. The debate centers on whether a permanent shift to daylight-saving time provides more economic and social utility than the traditional alternating system [2].
Despite the House approval, the Senate's hesitation remains the primary obstacle to the president's goal of locking the clocks forward [3, 5].
“"People are sick and tired of having to change their clocks twice a year."”
The push to make daylight-saving time permanent represents a shift toward simplifying national timekeeping, but it highlights a legislative divide between the House and Senate. While the executive branch views the biannual change as an inefficiency, Senate resistance suggests ongoing concerns regarding the potential impacts of permanent daylight-saving time on public health or energy usage.
