Trump faces Republican rebellion over Daylight Saving Time as Senate bill nears dead end
President Donald Trump wants Congress to pass legislation that would give Americans a break from a twice-yearly nuisance, but the sun will likely set on the push in the Senate,...
By Fox News · Fox News
President Donald Trump wants Congress to pass legislation that would give Americans a break from a twice-yearly nuisance, but the sun will likely set on the push in the Senate, where the issue is deeper than politics. The House passed its bill, the Sunshine Protection Act, last week to allow states to voluntarily observe Daylight Saving Time year-round, but the legislation is hitting a brick wall in the Senate. And it’s not the party aisle that’s defining the debate, it’s a horizontal line running through the United States that divides northern states versus southern states. TIME ENOUGH AT LAST: WHAT'S NEXT AFTER THE HOUSE PASSES BILL TO DO AWAY WITH DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME? "That is an issue in which there are passionate views on both sides," Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said on whether the Senate would consider the bill. "So we'll see," he continued. "I mean, the House having acted on it now, we'll see what the interest level is in the Senate. But I know that there are people who are willing to really slow things down over that issue." Proponents argue that it’s an inconvenience in their states and are hungry for more daylight in the evening, while opponents say that it would force school-aged children to be in the dark for the beginning of the day. One of the most vocal opponents of the legislation is one of Trump’s own allies on Capitol Hill, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who last year declared that he would "always oppose" efforts for permanent Daylight Saving Time. HOUSE PASSES DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME REFORM AS TRUMP SIGNALS SUPPORT FOR ENDING CLOCK CHANGE A source in Cotton’s orbit told Fox News Digital that the lawmaker was "far from the only one who objects" to the bill, and noted that the legislation is more of a grandfather clause that requires states to have already passed an observance of permanent standard time before the Sunshine Protection Act becomes law. Hawaii and Arizona are the only two states that, by their own laws, observe permanent stand…