Permanent Daylight Saving Time wins Donald Trump tweet of approval

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President Donald Trump says he’s on board with letting Florida leave its clocks alone.

“Making Daylight Saving Time permanent is O.K. with me!,” the president tweeted Monday morning.

The support may prove an important moment in time for legislation introduced by Florida lawmakers.

U.S. Reps. Vern Buchanan and Greg Steube and U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott will champion legislation in their respective chambers.

“Great to see President Trump indicate support for my Sunshine Protection Act,” Buchanan tweeted.

Steube, a freshman this session, pushed last year in the Legislature to stop the biannual ritual of resetting clocks.

“No one likes changing the clock,” Steube tweeted.

The Legislature last year ultimately passed a bill calling for Florida to stay permanently on Daylight Saving Time, an hour ahead of most of people in the same time zone for half the year.

Scott signed the bill into law last year.

But because the move would put Florida out of sync with other states, it takes a federal act to move ahead with the plan.

Rubio introduced a bill in the Senate last year to do just that, but it went nowhere.

Now with a near-guarantee from the president that he would sign the bill into law, it might raise the heat on lawmakers.

The nuisance of resetting the time reoccurred Sunday. It sparked fresh interest in the legislation seeking to solidify Daylight Saving Time.

Rubio certainly saw the presidential approval as a jolt for the bill.

“Hopefully we can pass it in Congress & get it to your desk soon,” Rubio responded after Trump’s tweet.

Buchanan told the TODAY show this weekend his hope is once Florida citizens set their clocks forward, they would never have to fall back to standard time again.

And with support from the White House, maybe Florida leads the way to other states springing forward for good.