US President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to eliminate daylight saving time, describing the biannual time change as "inconvenient and very costly to our Nation." In a post on his social media platform Friday, Trump said his administration and the Republican Party would work to abolish the practice when he assumes office. "The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn't!" Trump wrote. Daylight saving time, first adopted in 1942 as a wartime measure, involves setting clocks forward an hour in the spring and back an hour in the fall to maximize daylight during summer months. While intended to save energy and increase productivity, the practice has faced growing criticism over its relevance and impact on health. Lawmakers have periodically proposed doing away with the time change altogether. A bipartisan measure called the Sunshine Protection Act sought to make daylight saving time permanent but stalled after passing in the Senate. The bill was sponsored by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who has been nominated by Trump to serve as Secretary of State. "Changing the clock twice a year is outdated and unnecessary," Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said when the Senate approved the measure. Health experts, however, argue that lawmakers have it backward and that standard time, not daylight saving time, should be permanent. Organizations like the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine have advocated for aligning time with natural sunlight patterns, which they say better supports human biology. Most countries do not observe daylight saving time, and among those that do, the dates for changing clocks vary, creating complex time differences worldwide. In the U.S., Arizona and Hawaii have opted out of the practice entirely, keeping their clocks consistent year-round. — Agencies
