When does time go back in 2026? Most of the U.S. will fall back one hour at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday of November, and millions of Americans will gain an hour of sleep this weekend. The change comes after Halloween and returns the country to standard time for the fall and winter months.
In Boston, sunrise will move from 7:16 a.m. on Saturday to 6:17 a.m. on Sunday. Sunset will shift from 5:39 p.m. to 4:37 p.m., a change that shows how the clock switch moves daylight earlier in the day.
Sunshine Protection Act in Congress
The Sunshine Protection Act passed the House in July and went to the Senate. President Trump supports the measure, which would let states opt out of daylight saving time altogether before the law takes effect.
Congress first adopted daylight saving time in 1918 during World War I. After World War I, Congress repealed the clock switch but left states the option to keep observing it. Congress did not establish a uniform start and end for the time change until 1966, then brought year-round daylight saving time back during World War II and the 1970s energy crisis.
Tom Cotton and the Senate
Tom Cotton said Congress has tried permanent daylight saving time before and then returned to the twice-yearly time change once Americans experienced "once Americans experienced absurdly late sunrises in the winter." The Arkansas senator’s objection runs against the push for a permanent switch, even as the bill sits in the Senate.
That fight now has a deadline. The legislation and any other bills awaiting approval in Congress are set to expire in early January when the new class of lawmakers elected in Tuesday's midterm elections takes office, leaving the Senate to act before then if it wants the Sunshine Protection Act to advance.
