Senate Unlikely to Pass Permanent Daylight Saving Time Bill This Year Despite Trump Pressure

The Senate is unlikely to act before the end of the year on a House-passed bill that would make daylight saving time permanent, defying President Donald Trump and leaving Americans to change their clocks twice a year for the foreseeable future. The development comes as daylight saving time officially ends at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, Nov. 1, when clocks fall back one hour to standard time.

House Bill Stalls in the Senate

The Sunshine Protection Act, introduced by Republican Rep. Vern Buchanan of Florida, passed the House in July by a bipartisan vote of 301-117. It would make daylight saving time the permanent national standard, eliminating the semiannual clock change. But the bill has failed to clear the Senate, where key lawmakers have raised concerns about late winter sunrises.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., a member of GOP leadership, has been the most vocal opponent. ‘No one likes changing the clock, me included, but Congress has enacted permanent Daylight Saving Time multiple times before and repealed it each time once Americans experienced absurdly late sunrises in the winter,’ Cotton said. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., echoed that concern, saying ‘You’d be sending kids to school in the dark.’

Trump’s Push Fails to Move Senators

President Trump has aggressively pressured Senate Republicans to pass the bill. In social media posts earlier this month, he targeted Cotton and urged him to ‘GET IT DONE!’ He renewed his call this week, writing on Truth Social that ‘United States Senate is letting the Daylight Saving Bill die, when a vast Majority of the Country want it.’ Trump has argued that more afternoon daylight would benefit Americans and that changing clocks is costly and dangerous.

Despite the president’s efforts, the Senate remains unmoved. The chamber approved a similar measure by unanimous consent in 2022, but the House never took it up. Congress also enacted permanent daylight saving time in 1974 and repealed it the same year after public backlash over dark winter mornings.

Health Experts and States Weigh In

The debate has drawn attention from health professionals. Vadim Zipunnikov, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, recently warned that permanent daylight saving time may be the wrong move, citing potential negative effects on sleep and circadian rhythms. Medical groups including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine favor permanent standard time instead, arguing that morning light better supports human health.

At the state level, 19 states have expressed interest in making daylight saving time permanent, according to recent reports. In 2026, 16 states introduced 23 bills concerning daylight saving and standard time, though no federal change has been enacted.

What Happens Next

Daylight saving time will resume on March 14, 2027, under current law. The Sunshine Protection Act remains in the Senate, but with the chamber unlikely to vote before the end of the year, the twice-yearly clock change will continue for now. The bill’s supporters say they will keep pushing, while opponents argue that the issue is best left to individual states or that permanent standard time is the healthier choice.