On Saturday, US President Donald Trump posted the phone number of Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas on Truth Social. He urged residents of the state to call the senator and demand support for the Sunshine Protection Act.
The bill, which passed the House of Representatives in July by a vote of 308 to 117, aims to make daylight saving time permanent and abolish the twice-yearly changing of the clocks. In the Senate, the document has stalled.
Trump accused Cotton of being the one blocking the initiative's progress. "Tom Cotton, my friend, is holding up a very important bill for everyone in Arkansas," the president wrote.
Senator Cotton, for his part, explained his position in a post on X. He noted that permanent daylight saving time had been tried more than once before, but was later repealed because of the too-late sunrises in winter. "Arkansans don't want their kids going to school in pitch darkness," he emphasized.
Calls to the number Trump provided went straight to voicemail. The message box turned out to be full, and it was impossible to get through. The senator's office declined to comment directly on the situation.
Trump has long advocated abandoning the changing of the clocks, citing convenience for golfers and Americans' general desire to have more light in the afternoon. Cotton, usually considered an ally of the president, took a different position this time.
Can this method speed up passage of the law in the Senate, where a single vote is enough to block it?
For now, the bill remains in limbo, and the dispute between the two Republicans has moved into the public sphere. Residents of Arkansas have received an unexpected reason to call their senator.
