President Trump spoke about the upcoming return to daylight saving time on Thursday. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Days ahead of the semi-annual time change, President Trump said Thursday that it’s “hard to get excited” about changing daylight saving time and called it a “50-50 issue.”
Why it matters: The twice-yearly clock changes are a hot topic but lawmakers’ past attempts to get rid of them and switch to permanent daylight saving time have stalled.
Driving the news: Trump spoke briefly about clocks springing forward Thursday when signing executive orders.
- “I assume people would like to have more light later, but some people want to have more light earlier because they don’t want to take their kids to school in the dark,” he said.
- “It’s very much a fifty-fifty issue and it’s something I can do, but a lot of people like it one way, a lot of people like it the other way.”
Flashback: Trump said in December that the Republican Party would aim to get rid of daylight saving time.
- “The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn’t!,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
- “Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our nation,” he wrote.
Sunshine Protection Act of 2025
The latest: Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) reintroduced the Sunshine Protection Act in January to “lock the clock” and “make Daylight Saving Time the year-round standard.”
- “I’m excited to have President Trump back in the White House and fully on board to LOCK THE CLOCK so we can get this good bill passed and make this common-sense change that will simplify and benefit the lives of American families,” Scott said in a January statement.
- Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) introduced companion legislation in the House.
Yes, but: In 2022, the Sunshine Protection Act passed by unanimous consent by the Senate but was not voted on by the House.
Daylight saving time vs. standard time
The big picture: Most U.S. adults dislike the clock changes — currently designed to maximized daylight during summer, according to new Gallup polling.
- Health groups and sleep experts have called for an end to the seasonal shifting of clocks, a ritual first adopted in the U.S. more than a century ago.
- Groups favor sticking with standard time year-round over daylight saving time because they say it’s more aligned with our body clocks.
- The time changes also affect sleep schedules and can make it hard for kids and their parents to adjust.
Time change 2025: Spring forward
Zoom in: Sunday, March 9 is the day clocks are changed to daylight saving time starting at 2am.
- Clocks are set forward one hour to “spring forward” so we lose an hour.
- Sunrise and sunset will be about one hour later on Sunday than on Saturday.
- Hawaii and Arizona do not observe daylight saving time except for the Navajo Nation in northeastern Arizona.
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