Will Donald Trump end daylight saving time? Here's what he's said
Trump calls daylight saving time 'inconvenient'
President-elect Donald Trump wants to eliminate daylight saving time. In a post on his social media site, Trump said his party would try to end the practice when he returns to office. "Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation," he wrote.
LOS ANGELES - As Americans prepare to lose an hour of sleep when daylight saving time begins on March 9, debate over the century-old practice is once again heating up—this time with President Donald Trump weighing in on whether it should end for good.
Trump has made it clear where he stands, calling daylight saving time "inconvenient" and "very costly to our Nation" in a December post on Truth Social. He pledged that the Republican Party would work to eliminate the time change, though his administration has not yet announced any formal steps toward doing so.
This isn’t the first time the U.S. has attempted to move away from daylight saving time. In 2022, the Senate unanimously passed the Sunshine Protection Act to make DST permanent, but it stalled in the House and was never signed into law.
With daylight saving time set to return in March, the question remains: Will Trump follow through on ending it?
How daylight saving time works
What we know:
Daylight saving time begins on Sunday, March 9, 2025, when clocks move ahead by one hour. The shift extends to evening daylight during the spring and summer months.
The practice has been in place since 1918, originally introduced as a wartime measure to conserve energy. While many countries worldwide observe daylight saving time, others have abandoned it due to concerns about health, safety, and economic efficiency.
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What we don't know:
Despite Trump’s pledge to eliminate DST, his administration has not issued an executive order or introduced legislation to make standard time permanent.
US President Donald Trump during a news conference with Narendra Modi, India's prime minister, not pictured, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Lawmakers have debated the issue for years, but health experts and economists remain divided on the best solution. Some argue that keeping standard time year-round aligns better with natural sleep cycles, while a report from the Department of Energy from 2005 said extending daylight hours in the evening benefits businesses and reduces energy costs.
The history of daylight saving time in the US
The backstory:
The first national daylight saving law was passed in 1918, but it was repealed just a year later. Over the next several decades, individual states and cities adopted their own versions, leading to a confusing patchwork of time zones.
In 1966, Congress passed the Uniform Time Act, which standardized daylight saving time across the country. The modern system—starting in March and ending in November—has been in place since 2007.
Two states, Arizona and Hawaii, do not observe daylight saving time, opting instead to remain on standard time year-round.
RELATED: Eliminating daylight saving time could mean dramatic changes to sunrise, sunset times
Will Trump take action to end daylight saving time?
What's next:
Trump has not yet taken executive action on daylight saving time, but his public statements suggest the issue may be a priority for his administration.
History of daylight saving time
Daylight saving time, or DST, was formally introduced in the U.S. in 1918 during World War I.
If Trump moves forward, his options could include:
- Signing an executive order to end daylight saving time at the federal level.
- Supporting new legislation in Congress, such as a revised version of the Sunshine Protection Act.
- Allowing states to decide whether to keep or eliminate the time change.
For now, Americans should prepare to adjust their clocks on March 9, as daylight saving time remains in effect—at least for this year.
The Source: This article is based on statements from President Donald Trump, previous congressional efforts on daylight saving time, and reporting from the Associated Press.