Under the executive order signed on Friday, “all departments and executive agencies of the federal government will be closed and their employees exempt from service on Thursday 24 December 2020, the day before Christmas Day.”

However, the executive order excludes heads of executive departments and agencies, who may decide that “some offices and facilities of their organizations, or parts thereof, should remain open,” as well as for employees who may be required to work “for reasons of national security, defense or Any other general need. “

With the Christmas Eve break, federal workers will have a four-day weekend to celebrate the holiday. to me ReportsIn it, it was previously thought that the president would give federal employees a half day off on Thursday, as President Obama and President Clinton did when Christmas fell on Friday.

However, this is not the first time that President Trump has decided to issue an executive order granting federal employees a full day off work, as he did in the past in 2018 and 2019.

Officially, there are only 10 federal holidays in the United States, but presidents can sign executive orders giving federal employees days off.

In the wake of the latest order, which will mark the president’s last birthday in the White House, many have questioned why Election Day had not been made a federal holiday.

“It’s that easy, isn’t it? What about making Election Day a federal holiday? Too late. Let’s make it happen in 2021,” one person tweeted, referring to President-elect Joe Biden.

For private sector employees, federal holidays may or may not mean a day off – as companies cannot be legally required to celebrate a holiday.