Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton has responded after President Trump publicly pressured him to support permanent daylight saving time, reaffirming his opposition and saying he will put the interests of Arkansans first.

“No one likes changing the clock, me included, but Congress has enacted permanent Daylight Savings Time multiple times before and repealed it each time once Americans experienced absurdly late sunrises in the winter,” Cotton wrote.

“Arkansans don’t want their kids going to school in the pitch dark, and I’ll always put Arkansas first,” he added.

Trump has pushed Congress to make daylight saving time permanent, arguing that Americans would benefit from having more daylight during the afternoon and evening. The president also pointed to potential benefits for outdoor activities and industries such as sports, tourism, restaurants and retail.

The House passed the Sunshine Protection Act by a 308-117 vote in July, but the legislation has stalled in the Senate. The Senate has since adjourned and is not scheduled to return until after the November elections.

Cotton has previously explained that permanent daylight saving time would cause significantly later sunrises during the winter, particularly in Arkansas. In a 2025 Senate speech, he warned that some Arkansas communities could see winter sunrises after 8 a.m. or even 8:30 a.m., meaning some children would begin school before sunrise.

Cotton also pointed to the federal government's previous experiment with year-round daylight saving time in 1974. Congress repealed the policy less than a year after it took effect following public opposition to dark winter mornings.

The disagreement puts Cotton at odds with Trump on an issue where the president has been pressing Senate Republicans to act. Cotton's latest response indicates that he does not intend to change his position despite Trump's public appeal to Arkansas voters.