President Donald Trump ratcheted up pressure on Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) over the weekend, posting the senator's personal cell phone number on Truth Social and urging supporters to call him to demand action on a bill to make daylight saving time permanent.
In his initial post on Saturday, Trump wrote: "Tom Cotton, a friend of mine, is holding up a very important Bill," referring to the Sunshine Protection Act. He later added, "For some reason, Tom…" (the post was cut off in available reports). Trump then continued to berate Cotton throughout the day over his stance on the daylight saving measure.
The president's direct call for supporters to contact a sitting senator's personal number marks an unusually aggressive tactic in an internal Republican disagreement. The Sunshine Protection Act, which has been introduced in multiple sessions of Congress, would eliminate the twice-yearly clock change and keep the United States on daylight saving time year-round. The bill has broad bipartisan support in the Senate but has repeatedly stalled.
Senator Cotton's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Hill reported that the two men "tussled" over the issue following the cell phone leak.
The episode highlights both the enduring appeal of ending the seasonal time change and the willingness of President Trump to publicly pressure fellow Republicans who disagree with him on policy.