Federal workers are getting a Christmas gift from President Trump.
The president took executive action Thursday to ensure that federal workers get Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas off from work.
Trump had previously given federal workers the day off on Christmas Eve, but his action Thursday goes a step further and adds Dec. 26 to the list.
Previous presidents have given full or half days on Christmas Eve. Trump did so in 2019 and 2020. But adding Dec. 26 off as well is unusual.
The overture comes after federal workers had a rough couple of weeks during the record-breaking 43-day government shutdown that ended last month.
Oftentimes, holidays for federal workers can serve as a model for the private sector to follow.
Under Trump’s executive order, agency and department heads can still require certain federal employees to show up to work on Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas.
Ironically, Trump had previously been critical of the ever-expanding list of national holidays.
“Too many non-working holidays in America. It is costing our Country $BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to keep all of these businesses closed,” Trump grumbled on Truth Social back in June around the time of Juneteenth.
“The workers don’t want it either! Soon we’ll end up having a holiday for every once working day of the year. It must change if we are going to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Juneteenth had largely gone uncelebrated at the White House last June. Former President Joe Biden signed legislation in 2022 designating June 19 as a national holiday to celebrate the emancipation of slaves in the US.
While presidents can designate one-time holidays for federal workers, it is generally up to Congress to pass a law to establish a permanent national holiday.
Recently, the Trump administration adjusted the National Park Service’s free entrance days, scrapping Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth from the list.
At the same time, the National Park Service added Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, the 110th Birthday of the National Park Service, Constitution Day, and Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday to the list of free entrance days. It also made Flag Day free.
