President Joe Biden speaks as First Lady Jill Biden looks on during the National Christmas tree lighting ceremony on the Ellipse of the White House on Nov. 30, 2023. Biden gave federal employees Dec. 24 off Thursday. ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / Getty Images
Biden gives federal employees Christmas Eve off
Amid the potential of a government shutdown fueled by budget uncertainties on Capitol Hill, the president issued an executive order on Thursday giving federal employees Dec. 24 off.
While congressional budget negotiations remained in disarray early Thursday ahead of a Friday funding deadline, at least one thing was certain for federal employees: Dec. 24 will be a holiday this year.
President Biden issued an executive order Thursday closing federal agencies and offices the day before Christmas and providing a day off for federal employees, except those in positions of “national security, defense, or other public need.”
The order, anticipated annually by employees around mid-December, marks the first time the Biden administration has closed federal agencies on Christmas Eve in its single term.
The last time federal employees received the full day off on Dec. 24 was, ironically, in 2020, when President-elect Trump was in the final year of his first term.
Trump also previously closed agencies on Christmas Eve in 2018 and 2019 as well, bucking a previous tradition of presidents allowing federal employees to only take half days on Dec. 24..
During Biden’s tenure, Christmas Eve only fell on a weekday one other time, a Friday in 2021.
The order comes as Congress tries to restart a stopgap funding bill to keep the federal government from shutting down on Saturday after a proposed three-month continuing resolution plan collapsed Wednesday following criticism from Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance.