President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Tuesday giving all federal employees license to take the day off on Christmas Eve.
‘All executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government shall be closed and their employees excused from duty on Monday, December 24, 2018, the day before Christmas Day,’ the order read, as posted to the White House website.
Christmas Eve falls on a Monday this year, so the extra time off will certainly be appreciated by those who can take advantage of it.
But not all federal employees are guaranteed the additional holiday.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Tuesday giving all federal employees license to take the day off on Christmas Eve, which falls on a Monday this year, creating a long weekend. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are seen in their Official Christmas Portrait on December 15 in the Cross Hall of the White House in Washington, DC
Further down, the order notes that some people are simply indispensable to the business of running this country on Monday.
‘The heads of executive departments and agencies may determine that certain offices and installations of their organizations, or parts thereof, must remain open and that certain employees must report for duty on December 24, 2018, for reasons of national security, defense, or other public need,’ it read.
The post office, for example, will most likely have to remain open so that last minute deliveries can be made and people aren’t left disappointed on Christmas morning.
The order didn’t say whether Trump was giving himself the day off, but it did charge the Office of Personnel Management with carrying out the order.
The announcement got mixed reviews on social media.
The announcement got mixed reviews from on social media, with Twitter user @cmc_cannedeye writing, ‘Wonder if I will be furloughed or not (I am part of the federal workers who still don’t have a long term budget),’ referencing the government shutdown that the Senate voted to avoid on Wednesday
A Seattle native with the username was seemingly pleased, if sarcastic, writing, ‘Trump did at least one decent thing today!’ under the username @IveBeenGlazed with a name listed as ‘MoreCoffeePlease’
‘Wonder if I will be furloughed or not (I am part of the federal workers who still don’t have a long term budget),’ wondered Twitter user @cmc_cannedeye, referencing the government shutdown that the Senate voted to avoid, at least for the time being, on Wednesday.
A Seattle native was seemingly pleased, if sarcastic, writing, ‘Trump did at least one decent thing today!’
From the other side, sarcasm came in support of Trump, with user @PRPatLaw writing, ‘I want to see all those anti-Trump federal employees go to work on Monday as a way of protesting…’
Sarcasm came in support of Trump, with user @PRPatLaw writing, ‘I want to see all those anti-Trump federal employees go to work on Monday as a way of protesting…’
A Twitter user listed as Jim Dixon with the username @jdixon2600 wrote, ‘Like Presidents before him. Watch him try to say he was the first’
Trump isn’t the first president to issue such an Executive Order leading up to the holidays, though he hadn’t tried to make that claim by early on Thursday, either. Trump is shown, accompanied by first lady Melania Trump during the National Christmas Treelighting ceremony at the Ellipse near the White House in Washington, DC on November 28
And a user listed as Jim Dixon with the username @jdixon2600 wrote, ‘Like Presidents before him. Watch him try to say he was the first.’
Dixon is correct that Trump isn’t the first president to issue such an executive order leading up to the holidays, though he hadn’t tried to make that claim by early on Thursday, either.
For example, former President Barack Obama did the same in varying ways throughout his eight years in office, doling out a half-day off in both 2009 and 2015 when Christmas Eve fell on a Thursday, according to Government Executive, a site dedicated to federal business news.
Obama gave a bit more notice too, issuing the order two weeks ahead of the holiday that year, rather than just shy of one week, like Trump did this year.
In 2014, Obama gave the extra time off on the day after Christmas, when Christmas was on a Thursday, saving a few people from having to come back in to work for just one day before being off again for the weekend.
This year was Trump’s first chance to extend the extra time off courtesy to beleaguered federal workers, as Christmas Eve fell on Sunday last year, so the majority of government employees were already off work, anyway.
This year was Trump’s first chance to extend the extra time off courtesy to beleaguered federal workers, as Christmas Eve fell on Sunday last year, so the majority of government employees were already off work, anyway. The Executive Order granting Christmas Eve off is shown