President-elect Donald Trump announced on Friday that Republicans would aim to abolish daylight saving time, describing it as both “inconvenient” and “costly” for the nation.
“The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn’t! Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation,” Trump shared in a post on Truth Social.
Efforts to address daylight saving time have been a recurring topic in Congress. For years, lawmakers have introduced proposals to make daylight saving time permanent. However, these bills have consistently failed to pass through both chambers.
Advocates for making daylight saving time permanent argue that such a change would eliminate the need for Americans to reset their clocks in the fall and spring. They highlight that extended evening sunlight would provide more opportunities for outdoor activities and potentially improve overall well-being.
Critics of the proposal, however, point to its drawbacks. They argue that permanent daylight saving time would result in darker mornings for a significant part of the year. This could have safety implications, as children might have to go to school or wait for buses during hours of darkness.
An alternative proposal, making standard time permanent, would have the opposite effect. It would ensure brighter mornings throughout the year but would mean sacrificing extended daylight in the evening.
At this stage, it remains unclear whether Trump supports the adoption of permanent daylight saving time or favors reverting to permanent standard time. The Hill reached out to Trump’s transition team for clarification, but no response was provided.
Daylight saving time has been a fixture in most parts of the United States since the 1960s. Its origins, however, date back to 1918 when then-President Woodrow Wilson first introduced the concept.
