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The House on Tuesday approved a measure to end the twice‑yearly ritual of changing the clocks, handing President Donald Trump a political win, who has pushed for permanent daylight saving time despite objections from sleep experts and lawmakers in states that would see much later winter sunrises.
The proposal now heads to the Senate, where its fate remains uncertain. The House approved the bill by a bipartisan 308-117 vote, one of the strongest congressional showings yet for ending the twice-yearly clock change. However, Senate leaders have not committed to bringing it up for a vote, and some senators have already indicated opposition, meaning the measure faces a more difficult path despite broad House support.
The Sunshine Protection Act of 2025, sponsored by Representative Vern Buchanan, a Florida Republican, would make daylight saving time permanent nationwide by repealing the temporary daylight saving period and effectively advancing standard time by one hour.
After the House vote, Sen. Patty Murray (D‑Wash.) urged the Senate to act quickly, calling on Minority Leader John Thune to bring the Sunshine Protection Act to the floor. Murray, a longtime proponent of permanent daylight saving time, celebrated the House’s passage of the bill and said the country was “well past ready” to end the twice‑yearly clock change.
Murray noted that her home state—where winter sunsets can arrive before 4 p.m.—has repeatedly pushed for permanent daylight saving time and argued that Americans nationwide want the same stability. “Americans from Seattle to Miami believe it’s way past time to lock the clock,” she said, adding that she wants the Senate to vote “as soon as possible.”
Murray helped steer the Sunshine Protection Act through the Senate in 2022, when it passed by unanimous consent, and reintroduced the measure in 2025 alongside Sen. Rick Scott (R‑Fla.). She has also backed state‑level efforts to adopt permanent daylight saving time, including legislation signed by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee that would take effect only if federal law changes.
What to Know About Trump’s Response to the Measure
The measure has backing from Trump, who has repeatedly called for an end to the twice-yearly clock changes, previously calling daylight saving time “inconvenient” and “very costly to our nation.” In 2025, he told reporters: “It’s something I can do. But a lot of people like it one way, a lot of people like it the other way. It’s very even. And usually, I find when that’s the case, what else do we have to do?”
Trump celebrated the House vote as a victory for his long-running push to end seasonal clock changes, but support for ending the time switch does not necessarily translate into agreement on which clock Americans should keep. A growing number of lawmakers and sleep experts say the bigger question is whether the nation should adopt permanent Daylight Saving Time or permanent Standard Time.
If the measure ultimately passes both chambers and is signed by President Donald Trump, and if it takes effect on December 1, most Americans would not “fall back” into standard time during the winter months. Instead, Eastern states would remain on the equivalent of Eastern Daylight Time, Central states on Central Daylight Time, Mountain states on Mountain Daylight Time and Pacific states on Pacific Daylight Time.
Under permanent daylight saving time, some cities would not see the sun rise until well after 8 a.m. in winter. Seattle’s December 1 sunrise would be 8:38 a.m., Cleveland’s 8:31 a.m., and Atlanta’s 8:25 a.m.
What the Proposal Would Mean
The change would not create extra daylight, but it would shift the clock so that daylight comes later in the morning and lasts later into the evening during winter.
Supporters of permanent daylight saving time argue that ending the clock change would reduce disruption and give Americans more usable daylight in the evening. Buchanan said in May that Americans are “tired of the biannual time change” and argued that permanent daylight saving time could improve public health, reduce traffic accidents, lower crime and encourage more outdoor activity.
While the proposal enjoys bipartisan support, lawmakers do remain divided over whether permanent daylight saving time is the best solution.
Some House Democrats raised concerns this week about darker winter mornings. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida raised concerns about child safety, while Representative Nanette Barragán of California pointed to medical research that a change could be harmful to sleep patterns.
A 2025 Stanford Medicine analysis found that both permanent standard time and permanent daylight saving time would be healthier than changing clocks twice a year, because seasonal clock changes disrupt circadian rhythms.
The impacts differ widely based on region. States in the northern U.S. would experience some of the latest winter sunrises under permanent DST, while southern states would generally see a less dramatic impact.
But the debate has long been complicated by concerns over darker winter mornings, particularly for schoolchildren and commuters. The United States previously tried year-round daylight saving time during the 1970s energy crisis, but the experiment was cut short amid public concern over dark mornings.
Republican Senator Mike Rounds told reporters Wednesday that he opposes permanent daylight saving time: “It doesn't work in South Dakota. I mean, we’d have kids going to school in the dark until 9 o'clock, 9:30 in the morning. It won't work.”
Under current rules, daylight saving time begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November, when clocks move back one hour to standard time. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) describes daylight saving time as the period when clocks are moved one hour ahead, shifting daylight from the morning to the evening.
That means the most noticeable effect would come between November and March. In New York and Washington, D.C., wintertime would shift from Eastern Standard Time (UTC-5) to Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4).
In Chicago, Dallas and much of the Midwest and South, wintertime would move from Central Standard Time, or UTC-6, to Central Daylight Time, or UTC-5. In Denver and Salt Lake City, it would move from Mountain Standard Time, or UTC-7, to Mountain Daylight Time, or UTC-6.
In Los Angeles, Seattle and most of the West Coast, it would move from Pacific Standard Time, or UTC-8, to Pacific Daylight Time, or UTC-7.
How Every State’s Time Would Change
Most states would be one hour later in winter than they are under the current standard time. The main statewide exceptions are Hawaii and most of Arizona, which already do not observe daylight saving time. NIST says daylight saving time is not observed in Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Arizona, except for the Navajo Indian Reservation.
In practice, that means Hawaii would remain on Hawaii Standard Time, or UTC-10. Most of Arizona would remain on Mountain Standard Time, or UTC-7, although the Navajo Nation observes daylight saving time and would need to be treated separately in localized reporting.
Which States Already Back Permanent Daylight Saving Time?
The proposal would also interact with years of state-level efforts to stop clock changes. The National Conference of State Legislatures says 19 states have enacted measures to provide for year-round daylight saving time if Congress allows it: Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
Federal law currently allows states to opt out of daylight saving time and remain on standard time, as Arizona and Hawaii do, but it does not allow states to adopt permanent daylight saving time on their own. That is why congressional action is needed before those state laws can take effect.
A Competing Proposal Would Make Standard Time Permanent
The Sunshine Protection Act is not the only proposal before Congress. A separate bipartisan bill introduced this month, known as the Sunshine for Our Kids Act of 2026, would make standard time permanent instead of daylight saving time. Under that approach, Americans would keep the winter clock setting year-round, resulting in earlier sunrises and earlier sunsets.
The competing measure reflects a broader debate over what should happen if the country eventually abandons twice-yearly clock changes. While supporters of permanent daylight saving time argue that later sunsets encourage outdoor activity and provide more usable daylight after work, supporters of permanent standard time say it is better aligned with the body's natural circadian rhythm and avoids darker winter mornings.
What's Next for the Bill
The bill still faces several steps before it can become law. Even if the House approves it, the Senate would also need to pass the measure before it could be sent to Trump for his signature. A similar version of the Sunshine Protection Act passed the Senate in 2022 but did not become law.
For now, the practical effect is straightforward: if permanent daylight saving time becomes federal law by December, most Americans would keep the later clock setting through winter, while Hawaii and most of Arizona would remain unchanged.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Rebecca Flood and Emma Lee-Sang
Update 07/14/26 09:12 a.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information.
Update 07/14/26 05:40 p.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information.
Update 07/16/26 10:00 a.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information.
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