diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/client-go/tools/leaderelection/resourcelock/interface.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/client-go/tools/leaderelection/resourcelock/interface.go
index 9c9f3b073e8..bc77c2eda88 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/client-go/tools/leaderelection/resourcelock/interface.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/client-go/tools/leaderelection/resourcelock/interface.go
@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@ func New(lockType string, ns string, name string, coreClient corev1.CoreV1Interf
 func NewFromKubeconfig(lockType string, ns string, name string, rlc ResourceLockConfig, kubeconfig *restclient.Config, renewDeadline time.Duration) (Interface, error) {
 	// shallow copy, do not modify the kubeconfig
 	config := *kubeconfig
-	timeout := ((renewDeadline / time.Millisecond) / 2) * time.Millisecond
+	timeout := renewDeadline / 2
 	if timeout < time.Second {
 		timeout = time.Second
 	}