Trump wants to set the clock to daylight saving time

NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump want to turn off the lights at daylight saving time.

In a post on his social media on Friday, Trump said his party would try to end the practice when he returns to office.

“The Republican Party will do its best to eliminate Daylight Savings Time, which has a small but powerful constituency, but shouldn’t! Daylight saving time is inconvenient and very expensive for our nation,” he wrote.

Setting clocks forward one hour in the spring and back one hour in the fall is intended to maximize daylight in the summer months, but has long been subject to scrutiny. Daylight saving time was first adopted as a war measure in 1942.

Lawmakers have occasionally proposed getting rid of the time change altogether. The most prominent recent attempt, a now-stalled, bipartisan bill named The Sunshine Protection Acthad proposed making daylight saving time permanent.

The measure was sponsored by Florida Sen. Marco Rubiowhom Trump has tapped to lead the State Department.

“Changing the clocks twice a year is antiquated and unnecessary,” Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said when the Senate voted for the measure.

Health experts have said lawmakers are behind the times and that standard time should be made permanent.

Some health groupsincluding the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, have said it’s time to do away with time switches and that sticking to standard time better fits the sun — and human biology.

Most countries do not observe summer time. For those that do, the date the clocks change varies, creating a complicated tapestry of shifting time differences.

Arizona and Hawaii do not change their clocks at all.