President-elect Donald Trump takes the stage ahead of his speech at the FOX Nation Patriot Awards on December 5. Photo: Heather Khalifa/APPresident-elect Donald Trump announced Friday that the Republican Party would push to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, calling it “inconvenient” and “costly.”
“The Republican Party will make every effort to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but vocal group of supporters—but it shouldn’t! Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient and very costly to our nation,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, whom Trump has tapped to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency, have also expressed support for ending the biannual clock changes, which would require congressional approval.
While some of Musk and Ramaswamy's other proposals for the department have faced criticism as unrealistic or overly ambitious, the idea of eliminating the twice-yearly time shifts has gained traction among voters, according to recent polls.
If implemented, the change would have a broad impact on how millions of people structure their daily routines. It's also an initiative that has received support from key figures within Trump’s incoming administration and the Republican Senate caucus over the years.
Most U.S. states adjust their clocks forward in March and back in November, aiming to balance the amount of daylight people receive each day. Some advocates for change propose keeping standard time year-round, maintaining the clock settings from November to March. This would result in earlier sunrises and sunsets during those five months, providing more light in the morning and less in the evening. Supporters, including medical professionals, argue this approach aligns better with the body's natural circadian rhythm.
Others advocate for permanent Daylight Saving Time, which would shift the sun’s rise and set times later, giving people more daylight in the evening and less in the morning. This option is favored by retail, business, and restaurant groups, as well as organizations that believe extended daylight after work or school could boost economic activity and reduce crime.
The reasons for supporting either side of the debate are as varied as personal preferences and experiences. Some parents may prefer not to send their children to school in the dark, while others might appreciate more daylight for after-school sports and activities.
Trump has previously expressed support for ending the clock changes, tweeting in 2019: “Making Daylight Saving Time permanent is O.K. with me!”
Previous attempts to make Daylight Saving Time permanent have failed. The practice was first introduced during World War I to support industrial productivity, not to help farmers, as some commonly believe. During World War II, it was temporarily kept in place for similar reasons. In the 1970s, during the energy crisis, the country again experimented with permanent Daylight Saving Time, but the idea lost favor after reports of children being hit by cars while waiting for the bus in the dark.
States are not required to observe Daylight Saving Time, and Hawaii, most of Arizona, and several U.S. territories do not participate. In 2022, the U.S. Senate passed a bill to make Daylight Saving Time permanent, but the House did not vote on it. Last year, a bipartisan group of senators reintroduced similar legislation. Now, with potential support from the president-elect, the nation may be poised for another attempt to make a change—one way or the other.
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