Trump has a new GOP loyalty test — but voters might actually like it this time

President Donald Trump dances during an event at the Port of Corpus Christi in Corpus Christi, Texas, February 27, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

President Donald Trump is cooking up a new loyalty test for GOP lawmakers, this time driven by clocks, according to Politico, and while the rest of his agenda might be increasingly toxic with voters, this one might actually prove to be fairly popular.

As Politico revealed in a Friday morning report, Trump "is lobbying GOP lawmakers on a plan to make daylight saving time permanent, meaning more daylight in the evening hours and an end to the twice-yearly clock-resetting ritual observed in most states." In fact, he has already notched one small victory on this count.

"Trump has fixated on this issue, believing it resonates with voters who are burdened by 'all of the work and money' associated with changing the clocks every six months," Politico revealed. "He scored an initial victory last month when members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted 48-1 to insert an amendment into their portion of a surface transportation reauthorization bill that would codify daylight saving time across the country."

Trump's involvement was reportedly instrumental in getting that amendment successfully added to the bill. Politico also reported that he made "personal phone calls to Republicans on the matter."

“He’s a big fan of it,” Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican who received one of those calls, told Politico. “He said, ‘Do you still think this is a good idea?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I do, I think it’s a great idea.’”

“The president has been actively engaged in this,” one anonymous senior official added in an interview. “It’s a big priority for him.”

Unlike most of Trump's second-term agenda, there is ample evidence to suggest that voters and Americans overall might actually enjoy this change, if it gets across the finish line. Daylight Savings, meant to preserve hours of sunlight across different seasons for the benefit of farm workers, has long been viewed by many as an antiquated practice that is more troublesome than it is worth anymore for most people, especially when it means losing an hour of sleep once a year. According to a Gallup poll from last spring, 54 percent of U.S. adults said that they would support moving away from Daylight Saving Time, with 40 percent opposing and 6 percent saying they were unsure.

"It remains to be seen, however, whether Trump will be able to parlay support within his party at the committee level to the House and Senate floors, where many members could then be less enthusiastic about voting on a policy change that would have far-reaching consequences," Politico noted.

It added: "There have been bipartisan efforts for years to make daylight saving time the norm and none have been successful. Lawmakers have been torn between advocacy from the golf and retail industries eager for more daylight to boost their businesses, and sleep experts who warn of the adverse health effects of darker morning hours — and some Jewish constituents whose daily morning prayers are required to happen in daylight."

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