President Donald Trump delivered an early gift to the federal workforce, signing an executive order that effectively grants a five-day weekend to hundreds of thousands of government employees. The order, signed last Thursday, designates both Wednesday, Dec. 24, and Friday, Dec. 26, as federal holidays for 2025.
While the move is a boon for morale within the executive branch—closing nonessential agencies from Christmas Eve through the following Sunday—it creates a complex patchwork of operating hours for the private sector and quasi-governmental services.
“All executive departments and agencies of the federal government shall be closed and their employees excused from duty on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, and Friday, Dec. 26, 2025,” the executive order says, although it includes a crucial caveat allowing agency heads to keep offices open for “reasons of national security, defense, or other public need.”
While the move is generous, it’s not without precedent. Presidents often issue executive orders closing the government on Christmas Eve when it falls midweek. Trump did this in 2018, 2019, and 2020. President Barack Obama also closed the government on Dec. 26 in 2014. However, securing both surrounding days is a rarity. And crucially, Trump’s executive order does not legally compel banks, markets, or private enterprises to close.
