President Donald Trump is pushing the U.S. Senate to permanently end the twice-a-year clock change, arguing that keeping daylight saving time year-round could provide more evening sunlight, reduce disruption — and possibly even help reduce crime.
President Donald Trump has renewed his campaign to make daylight saving time permanent across most of the United States, urging senators to approve legislation already passed by the House of Representatives.
In a recent Truth Social statement, Trump called on Republican senators to pass the Sunshine Protection Act “ASAP.”
“People are sick and tired of having to change their clocks twice a year,” Trump wrote, describing the practice as inconvenient and costly.
But Trump went considerably further than simply complaining about resetting clocks.
He argued that permanently shifting an hour of daylight toward the evening could bring benefits ranging from safer streets and fewer traffic accidents to more outdoor activity and stronger business activity.
Among the claims highlighted by the president was that additional evening daylight could help decrease robbery and murder rates.
The question is: Is there evidence behind that claim?
The answer is more interesting than it may initially appear.
The House Has Already Passed the Bill
The proposal is known as the Sunshine Protection Act.
The legislation would eliminate the seasonal switch between standard time and daylight saving time and generally keep the country on daylight saving time throughout the year.
The House of Representatives passed the measure on July 14 by a bipartisan vote of 308–117.
If enacted, most Americans would stop moving their clocks forward every March and backward every November.
The practical result would be:
later sunsets in winter — but also later sunrises.
The legislation still needs Senate approval before it can reach Trump’s desk.
Trump is now openly pressing senators to finish the job.
“I am asking Republican Senators to PASS THE SUNSHINE PROTECTION ACT, ASAP,” he wrote.
The Senate, however, is currently in recess and is scheduled to return in September, meaning immediate legislative action is unlikely.
Trump’s Crime Argument Is Not Entirely Without Evidence
The most striking part of Trump’s argument concerns crime.
His contention is essentially simple:
criminal activity is more difficult when streets remain naturally illuminated later in the evening.
There is actually academic research supporting part of this argument.
Researchers Jennifer Doleac and Nicholas Sanders examined changes in crime around daylight saving time transitions.
Their research found approximately a 7% reduction in robberies following the shift into daylight saving time.
The effect was particularly noticeable during evening hours when daylight replaced darkness.
The study used the abrupt clock change as a natural experiment: the amount of daylight during particular clock hours suddenly changes even though most other environmental and social conditions remain relatively similar.
That gave researchers an opportunity to study whether ambient light itself influences criminal activity.
Their conclusion suggested that additional evening daylight can reduce certain types of street crime — particularly robbery.
That does not prove that permanent daylight saving time would dramatically reduce national crime rates.
But it means Trump’s argument about robbery is not simply speculation.
Murder Is a Much Bigger Claim
Trump also suggested permanent daylight saving time could help reduce murder rates.
Here the evidence is far less clear.
Existing research provides stronger evidence linking additional evening daylight with reductions in certain crimes such as robbery than with homicide.
Homicides are comparatively rare events and are driven by many factors that have little to do with daylight — including domestic violence, gang conflicts, drug activity and interpersonal disputes.
Therefore, saying permanent daylight saving time will reduce murders would go beyond what available research can currently demonstrate.
A more accurate statement is that additional evening daylight may reduce opportunities for some crimes, particularly crimes committed against people in public spaces.
More Daylight — But Not More Sun
There is another important clarification.
Permanent daylight saving time would not literally give Americans an additional hour of sunlight.
The amount of daylight on any given date is determined by Earth’s position relative to the sun.
Changing the clock simply moves an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening according to the clock.
In December, for example, Americans would experience later sunsets — but sunrise would also occur approximately one hour later.
That tradeoff is at the center of the controversy.
The Case Against Permanent Daylight Saving Time
While Trump and many lawmakers prefer more evening daylight, medical and sleep organizations have frequently supported the opposite policy:
permanent standard time.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine argues that permanent standard time better aligns human schedules with the body’s natural circadian rhythm.
Sleep specialists argue that morning light is particularly important for regulating sleep cycles, alertness and hormone production.
Under permanent daylight saving time, many communities — especially in northern and western parts of time zones — could experience extremely late winter sunrises.
Children could be traveling to school before sunrise.
Workers could spend much of their morning commute in darkness.
The United States has tried something similar before.
America Tried Permanent DST in the 1970s
During the 1973 energy crisis, Congress approved year-round daylight saving time as an energy-saving measure.
The experiment quickly became unpopular.
Winter mornings remained dark much later than Americans were accustomed to, leading to concerns about children traveling to school before sunrise.
Congress ultimately ended the experiment early.
That history is frequently cited by opponents of the new legislation.
Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas has been among those warning that permanent DST could once again create unusually dark winter mornings across large parts of the country.
Why Trump Wants the Change
Trump’s argument extends beyond crime.
He has said permanent daylight saving time could benefit:
- families spending more time outdoors;
- youth sports and extracurricular activities;
- restaurants and retailers;
- tourism;
- pedestrian safety;
- energy costs;
- and Americans tired of changing clocks twice every year.
The basic political appeal is easy to understand.
Most Americans are awake and active during the evening, when an additional hour of daylight can be used for recreation, shopping or family activities.
Early-morning sunlight often arrives while many people are still asleep.
Trump’s position is therefore essentially:
put the available daylight where Americans can use it.
Midtown Tribune Fact Check
CONFIRMED
Trump is calling for permanent daylight saving time.
Yes.
He has publicly urged the Senate to pass the Sunshine Protection Act and called for action “ASAP.”
CONFIRMED
The House has already passed legislation making DST permanent.
Yes.
The House approved the legislation 308–117 in July 2026.
PARTLY SUPPORTED
More evening sunlight could reduce crime.
There is legitimate research supporting this claim for certain crimes.
A well-known U.S. study found approximately a 7% reduction in robberies following the transition to daylight saving time, with effects concentrated in evening hours.
NOT ESTABLISHED
Permanent DST will reduce murders.
That conclusion is much harder to support.
The available evidence does not establish that simply moving daylight into the evening will produce a significant national reduction in homicide.
IMPORTANT DISTINCTION
Permanent DST does not create more daylight.
It changes where that daylight appears on the clock:
darker mornings, brighter evenings.
Midtown Tribune Analysis
The daylight-saving debate is often presented as little more than an argument over the inconvenience of resetting clocks.
But the policy question is considerably larger.
The United States essentially has three options:
continue switching clocks twice each year;
adopt permanent standard time;
or adopt permanent daylight saving time.
Trump has now clearly chosen the third option.
There is a reasonable economic and public-safety argument behind it: Americans would gain additional usable evening daylight, and research suggests that greater ambient light can reduce opportunities for some street crimes.
But permanent DST also comes with a real cost — dark winter mornings, particularly for schoolchildren.
The strongest version of Trump’s argument is therefore not that changing the clock somehow creates extra sunlight or automatically solves crime.
It is that America already has the sunlight — and the government must decide when Americans should get to use it.
That is now a decision waiting on the United States Senate.
Official Documents & Research
-
U.S. Congress — Sunshine Protection Act of 2025
Congressional legislation to make daylight saving time permanent -
Sunshine Protection Act — Legislative Text
Full text of the bill -
Doleac & Sanders — How Ambient Light Influences Criminal Activity
Research examining daylight saving time and crime -
American Academy of Sleep Medicine — Permanent Standard Time Position
Scientific position on permanent standard time and circadian health
Midtown Tribune separates political claims from documented research and provides links to legislation and primary research whenever possible.
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