President Donald Trump is pressuring Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., to push through a bill that would make Daylight Saving Time permanent, and Cotton is refusing to play along. The president shared his personal phone number on Truth Social, urging the Senate to act after the bill sailed through the House. Cotton responded by vowing to block any attempt to fast-track the measure on the Senate floor.
“No one likes changing the clock, me included, but Congress has enacted permanent Daylight Saving Time multiple times before and repealed it each time once Americans experienced absurdly late sunrises in the winter… Arkansans don’t want their kids going to school in the pitch dark, and I’ll always put Arkansas first.”
Cotton’s Record on the Clock
Cotton’s objection is historical. In the 1970s, lawmakers enacted year-round Daylight Saving Time. It lasted about a year before Congress repealed it.
Cotton recently answered an off-the-cuff question from a fellow Republican during their weekly closed-door policy lunches, a source told Fox News Digital. He made a similar case as his response to Trump. No one pushed back during the meeting.
The Divide Between Mountain States and Coastal Ones
The fight splits mountainous and Western states against coastal ones. Sens. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Mike Rounds, R-S.D., oppose the bill. Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., support it.
Daines told CNN in July: “I can see where Florida likes it for tee times at certain times of the year, but it doesn’t work so well for moms and dads putting kids on buses when the sunrise in Western Montana wouldn’t be till 9:30 in the morning. It’s not going to work for us.”
Murray offered a different framing. She said in a statement: “Every year, more Americans grow more frustrated setting their clocks back and forth, and every winter folks in Washington state despair at the prospect of losing an hour of precious sunlight when we are forced off Daylight Saving Time.”
Barrasso’s Warning
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., raised another concern in July. He said the decision depends heavily on where you live.
“Depends where you’re living in the country and the impact — what it would be, in your own home state… So it’s not as simple as what one state might like,” he said.
The Bill’s Long Road
The House passed the bill this summer. The Senate version now faces a near-dead end due to lack of floor time after the midterms.
More pressing issues crowd the calendar. The National Defense Authorization Act, supplemental war funding, and a looming government funding battle all take precedence.
Trump’s Phone Number
Trump’s intervention adds a layer of spectacle. By sharing his personal phone number, he is asking Cotton to answer directly — and publicly.
The move is unusual. Presidents typically lobby through staff or formal channels. Trump is doing it himself, and doing it in a way that puts Cotton in an awkward spot.
Cotton’s Stance Holds
Cotton is not backing down. His message is consistent: he opposes permanent Daylight Saving Time because it forces families to send their children to school in the dark.
He also points to the past. Repealing the law has happened before, and he believes it will happen again.
What Happens Next
The bill is stalled. Without floor time, it cannot advance. The midterms have reshaped the legislative calendar, and the defense and funding battles are more urgent.
The battle over Daylight Saving Time is at a near-dead end. Cotton’s vow to block fast-tracking means the measure cannot move quickly, and the coming months will likely determine whether the issue dies or resurfaces after the midterms.
Where the paper stands
The paper backs Sen. Tom Cotton and is against President Donald Trump’s pressure on him to fast-track a bill making Daylight Saving Time permanent. Cotton has repeatedly explained why the idea fails in practice, citing the 1970s experiment that lasted about a year before being repealed. Trump’s move — posting his phone number on Truth Social and asking the Senate to act — crosses the line between normal lobbying and direct pressure on a sitting senator.
This story shows an executive branch office gathering power over a matter outside its proper sphere, using public pressure to try to force a result. That is the kind of concentration of power the paper opposes, whoever does it. Trump is asking Cotton to break Senate rules and fast-track a bill, which Cotton has vowed not to do. The paper supports Cotton’s refusal to bend to that pressure.
The real test will come if Cotton is forced to choose between his own principles and political pressure from above. The paper wants him to hold firm, as he has promised to do. The coming months will show whether the issue dies or resurfaces after the midterms, and whether Cotton keeps his word.
Source material: “Battle over Daylight Saving Time erupts as push to stop changing clocks hits Senate wall,” Fox News.
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