In their newly appointed roles by Donald Trump of leading the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have their sight set on eliminating government waste.
The duo could have a new target to tackle: daylight saving time.
What Happened: Musk and Ramaswamy have made headlines for sharing programs and government agencies they will target in their newly announced positions of leaders of the Department of Government Efficiency, or D.O.G.E for short.
Billionaire Musk recently sparked speculation that he could have his targets set on eliminating daylight saving time with a tweet recently.
"Looks like the people want to abolish the annoying time changes!" Musk tweeted last week, linking to an X user's poll.
Ramaswamy seemed to agree, replying "it's inefficient & easy to change."
While it was not clear if the duo were serious about working on a change, it's not the first time and might not be the last time that the discussion escalates on ending the practice of changing clocks twice a year.
Daylight saving time is the process of moving clocks forward one hour in the spring and moving clocks back one hour in the fall, a practice that has to do with the number of hours with daylight for daily routines like work and school.
The process of changing time on clocks can lead to loss of sleep in the morning, missed appointments and public health problems, according to the Washington Post.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) voiced support for Trump and Ramaswamy to make daylight saving time permanent.
"The outdated practice of changing our clocks twice a year and needs to end," Tuberville tweeted.
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Why It's Important: A push for year-round daylight saving time could see clocks move ahead one hour and never fall back for more people around the world to enjoy sunshine, according to the report.
"Switching the clocks just doesn't make sense for a country on the move," Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) told the Washington Post. "But we need permanent daylight saving time — more hours of daylight in the evening means more hours to get things done."
The Washington Post said public health groups think a permanent standard time could improve overall health and decrease the risk of heart attacks and stroke.
"There is significant stress on the body, and changes that occur, when we are not aligned to the right internal clock," University of California at San Francisco-Fresno sleep medicine physician Lourdes DelRosso told the Washington Post earlier this year.
A YouGov poll in March 2023 cited by the report said 62% of Americans were in support of ending the practice of daylight saving time. Around 50% of the poll found that people preferred year-round daylight saving time, with around a third wanting permanent standard time.
Along with health savings by making a change there could be economic savings. A study from Chmura Economics & Analyst estimates that the total economic cost of daylight saving time in the U.S. is $672.02 million annually.
This total includes $374.75 million from increased heart attacks, $251.53 million from increased strokes, $18.35 million other workplace injuries and $27.39 million from increased traffic accidents.
What's Next: The debate on daylight saving time has waged on for years and while many support making a permanent change, legislation has stalled and nothing has been done.
Hawaii and part of Arizona currently operate on a permanent standard time clock and some U.S. territories like American Samoa, Guam and Puerto Rico do the same.
Trump has shown past support of making daylight saving time permanent, as reported by The Hill.
In the early 1970s, a decision to adopt permanent daylight saving time was reversed 10 months later after receiving complaints about children waiting in the dark for school buses.
Attempts to change daylight saving time could require Congress to pass a bill, which could make Musk and Ramaswamy's attempts a starting point, but potentially not a final one.
The Transportation Department currently oversees daylight saving time and said it does not have the power to change without Congress, as reported by The Washington Post.
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Photo: New Africa via Shutterstock
