Congress
Cotton blocks Trump-backed effort to make daylight savings time permanent
Sen. Tom Cotton wasn’t fast enough in 2022 to block Senate passage of legislation that would make daylight savings time permanent. Three years later, he wasn’t about to repeat that same mistake.
The Alabama Republican was on hand Tuesday afternoon to thwart a bipartisan effort on the chamber floor to pass a bill that would put an end to changing the clocks twice a year, including this coming Sunday.
“If permanent Daylight Savings Time becomes the law of the land, it will again make winter a dark and dismal time for millions of Americans,” said Cotton in his objection to a request by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) to advance the bill by unanimous consent.
“For many Arkansans, permanent daylight savings time would mean the sun wouldn’t rise until after 8:00 or even 8:30am during the dead of winter,” Cotton continued. “The darkness of permanent savings time would be especially harmful for school children and working Americans.”
A cross-party coalition of lawmakers has been trying for years to make daylight savings time the default, which would result in more daylight in the evening hours with less in the morning, plus bring to a halt to biannual clock adjustments.
President Donald Trump endorsed the concept this spring, calling the changing of the clocks “a big inconvenience and, for our government, A VERY COSTLY EVENT!!!”
His comments coincided with a hearing, then a markup, of Scott’s legislation in the Senate Commerce Committee. It set off an intense lobbying battle in turn, pitting the golf and retail industries — which is advocating for permanent daylight savings time —against the likes of sleep doctors and Christian radio broadcasters — who prefer standard time.
Joined by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) in calling for the Senate to pass the bill Tuesday, Scott cited states’ rights as a major reason for his support for the so-called “Sunshine Protection Act.”
“It allows the people of each state to choose what best fits their needs and the needs of their families,” said Scott. “The American people are sick and tired of changing their clocks twice a year. It’s confusing, unnecessary and completely outdated.”
There was hope earlier this year that momentum was growing for the quixotic legislative campaign after progress stalled following senators’ success in 2022 to pass a version of Scott’s bill by unanimous consent — an outcome typically reserved for noncontroversial bills that took lawmakers by surprise.
Cotton on Tuesday decried the “abject failure” of the last time Congress enacted permanent daylight savings time in 1974, pledging to always oppose legislation that would do just that.
He said he took “full responsibility” for dropping the ball in 2022, explaining he hadn’t adequately communicated the extent of his opposition and that he had expected another senator to object.
Sen. Ruben Gallego on Wednesday called former Attorney General Merrick Garland a “coward” over his handling of prosecuting Jan. 6 insurrectionists.
Speaking at an event with Economic Liberties, the Arizona Democrat said it “took way too damn long” to hold anyone accountable for the 2021 attack on the Capitol.
“We didn’t move fast enough in holding Jan. 6 Republicans, the president, everyone up and down the organizations that were helping out, accountable,” Gallego said, adding that he “100 percent” blames Garland for not being more aggressive.
Despite more than 1,500 people being charged with crimes for their participation in the deadly attack on the Capitol, some Democrats were displeased with Garland’s prosecution tactics.
Though Trump was eventually indicted on federal charges, some Democrats accused Garland of waiting too long to launch an investigation into Trump. Garland announced the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith in 2022, citing Trump’s reelection bid as part of his decision to begin the investigation.
“I think he was a coward, and if I could ever take down his photo from the U.S. Attorney’s office, I would gladly do it,” Gallego said of Garland. “He was willing to sacrifice our democracy for the institution of the DOJ. There is no DOJ without democracy.”
The remarks from Gallego echo his previous criticism of Garland for his handling of Jan. 6 prosecutions, including when he was still in office.
“I’m just not seeing the urgency from the attorney general,” Gallego told CNN in 2022. “He’s thinking more about protecting the institution of the Department of Justice. And I appreciate that, but he has to be thinking about protecting the institution of democracy.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats have submitted their latest proposal for pairing Department of Homeland Security funding with immigration enforcement policy changes.
“Democrats sent Republicans our counteroffer on legislation to reopen DHS, pay TSA workers, while at the same time rein in ICE with commonsense guardrails,” Schumer said, adding that the offer “contains some of the very same asks Democrats have been talking about now for months” on changes to immigration enforcement tactics.
Schumer met with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries Wednesday to discuss the funding stalemate.
President Donald Trump called on Congress Wednesday to quickly extend a key surveillance program amid a Republican rebellion that is threatening to tank the effort ahead of an April 20 deadline.
“When used properly, [the program] is an effective tool to keep Americans safe,” Trump said in a Truth Social post Wednesday. “For these reasons, I have called for a clean 18-month extension.”
He emphasized that restrictions included in the last reauthorization of the Section 702 spy program should remain in place. Trump also argued that the ongoing war against Iran should lead Congress to act quickly given the program, which allows intelligence agencies to monitor communications abroad without a warrant, is “extremely important to our Military.”
“With the ongoing successful Military activities against the Terrorist Iranian Regime, it is more important than ever that we remain vigilant, PROTECT our Homeland, Troops, and Diplomats stationed abroad, and maintain our ability to quickly stop bad actors seeking to cause harm to our People and our Country,” Trump said.
Blue Light News previously reported that the White House had privately communicated Trump’s support for a straight extension to key congressional leaders.
Speaker Mike Johnson pushed House Republican hard-liners who want new restrictions against domestic surveillance to back the extension Trump wants, including in a closed-door House GOP meeting Wednesday morning. Several Republicans still raised concerns about the “clean” reauthorization plan, including Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia.
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