President Bush orders agencies closed Friday for day of mourning
Executive order issued Sunday covers all agencies except those that must remain open for national security reasons.
President Bush has ordered that federal agencies across the country close on Friday, June 11, to honor Ronald Reagan.
Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, died Saturday at the age of 93. Friday has been designated a national day of mourning for the former president.
In an executive order issued Sunday, Bush ordered "all executive departments, independent establishments, and other governmental agencies" closed on Friday "as a mark of respect for Ronald Reagan."
The order does not apply to offices that agency heads determine must stay open for national security reasons.
Office of Personnel Management Director Kay Coles James notified Cabinet secretaries, agency heads and chief human capital officers governmentwide about the closure shortly after President Bush signed the executive order.
Reagan had an often-contentious relationship with federal employees. Nevertheless, John Gage, president of the largest federal-sector union, the American Federation of Government Employees, issued a statement Monday praising the former president.
"Although the American labor community often found itself at odds with President Ronald Reagan, AFGE mourns the loss of a worthy opponent and a great American," Gage said.
Reagan will lie in state at the United States Capitol beginning Wednesday evening. After funeral services in Washington on Friday, he will be laid to rest in California.