What's New
President Joe Biden gave federal government workers a holiday gift Thursday by announcing that their offices will be shutting down for Christmas Eve.
In one of his final executive orders before he leaves the White House in January, the president gave most staff the day off, unless they are needed for vital national security or defense roles.
Why It Matters
Christmas Eve is not a designated federal holiday, but it has been the case in the past that presidents have used an executive order to grant workers an extra day off. The Biden administration had not done it before.
What To Know
Federal staffers were last given Christmas Eve off in 2020 under President Donald Trump. He also granted the time off in 2019 and 2018.
In his executive order Thursday, Biden said: "All executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government shall be closed and their employees excused from duty" while also saying that heads of departments had discretion over whether certain employees should still work "for reasons of national security, defense, or other public need."
Staff would still be paid and leave honored, the order said, although if Congress cannot agree on a funding stopgap and the government shuts down, many employees would be placed on unpaid furlough.
What People Are Saying
Robert H. Schriver III, acting director of the Office of Personnel Management, in a memo: "Most employees who are excused from duty on December 24th will receive the basic pay they would have received if no Executive order had been issued. An employee who was previously scheduled to take annual leave on December 24th will not be charged annual leave [or any other form of paid leave, compensatory time off, or credit hours] for his or her scheduled workday."
X user @ShayGotDaTea: "Let's go @POTUS!! Thank you Biden. My government working a** already was off Christmas. Now he signed an executive order for Christmas eve too!"
What's Next
Whether the day off matters or not comes down to Congress passing a last-minute stopgap funding bill to keep the government working beyond Friday and into the new year.
What Will Be Closed on Christmas Eve?
Biden's executive order says all "executive departments and agencies" would be granted the leave, which covers those that report directly to the White House, including the departments of State, Treasury, Agriculture, Justice, Commerce, Defense, Labor, Transportation, Energy, Homeland Security, Education, Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services, Interior and Housing and Urban Development.
Each department include various smaller agencies, which will also be included.
In-person services, such as Social Security Administration offices and the United States Postal Service offices, could be affected.
What Will Still Be Open on Christmas Eve?
The executive order says that those needed for national security, defense or other public need will be required to work, although it will be up to each department and agency to decide.
One example could be workers within Homeland Security, such as TSA workers, who would still be required at airport security.
Most online services for various agencies would still be available.
Those who have to work will be entitled to "holiday premium pay," per a memo from the Chief Human Capital Officers Council.
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