President Donald Trump publicly shared what appeared to be the personal cell phone number of Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., on Truth Social, escalating his pressure campaign to force a vote on legislation that would make daylight saving time permanent. In the post, Trump described Cotton as «a friend» but blamed him for single-handedly blocking the Sunshine Protection Act from reaching the Senate floor last October.
«For some reason, Tom is stopping the Bill and, in the Senate, it's very easy to do, it only takes one! It should pass overwhelmingly, in a Bipartisan fashion,» Trump wrote. He then urged Arkansas voters to contact the senator directly, ending the message with the phone number and the instruction: «So, everyone in Arkansas, a State I love, and won 3 times, the last by 34 points, tell Tom to, GET IT DONE!»
The post marks another setback for Trump, who has made ending the twice-yearly clock change a priority of his policy agenda since returning to office. The House passed its version of the bill in July by a wide 308–117 margin, drawing support from both parties. But the legislation was referred to a Senate committee and has not been touched since. The Senate is out of session until Nov. 3, meaning no vote can occur until after the midterm elections.
Trump has argued that permanent daylight saving time would «decrease Robbery and Murder Rates, Reduce Car Accidents (especially those involving Pedestrians!), Lower Risk for Cardiac Issues, Stroke, and Seasonal Depression,» among other benefits tied to having an extra hour of evening daylight. The bill's stall despite bipartisan backing represents a fresh legislative disappointment for the president, who has been unable to secure its passage.
Hours after Trump's post, Cotton doubled down on his opposition. Writing on X, the Arkansas senator said: «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changing the clock, me included, but Congress has enacted permanent Daylight Savings Time multiple times before and repealed it each time once Americans experienced absurdly late sunrises in the winter.» He added: «Arkansans don't want their kids going to school in the pitch dark, and I'll always put Arkansas first.»
The dispute traces back to last fall, when Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., sought unanimous consent to move the Senate bill. Cotton's objection blocked that effort. The House bill remains parked in committee, and with the Senate in recess, the measure's path forward is unclear.
This is not the first time Trump has publicly disclosed a lawmaker's cellphone number. In 2015, while campaigning for president, he shared the number of then-Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., at a rally in South Carolina, shortly after Graham had called him a «jackass» on CBS that morning. Fox News Digital called the number associated with the Dardanelle, Arkansas, area code but did not reach Cotton. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.