On Friday, Donald Trump signed an order that gives most federal workers a paid day off on Christmas Eve.
As the workers were expecting a half-day off, the news came to them as a pleasant surprise. The order bound all the federal agencies and departments to remain close a day before Christmas on Thursday, December 24, 2020, and all the employees will be granted a paid holiday.
The former presidents gave half days off when Christmas fell on Friday during their presidential period. Barack Obama announced a half-day in 2015 and 2019, and so did Clinton in 1998.
Trump is the most prominent advocate of celebrating Christmas with pride and contentment.point 346 |
As he took the presidency, he called the former presidents politically correct democrats who were “waging war on Christmas.point 111 | ” During a speech at a rally in Georgia on Saturday, he said some politicians still want to erase the Christmas holiday.point 216 |
He wished all his supporters a Merry Christmas and expressed how proud he is to celebrate this holiday.point 88 | He further shared his fear that political opponents may try to eliminate the word “Christmas” from the vocabulary again.point 202 | 1
The order for an extra day off before Christmas was announced on Friday via executive order.point 195 | It is the third year in a row when Trump has made Christmas Eve a federal holiday.point 261 |
Most of the employees will be enjoying the day off on Thursday, besides a few exceptions.point 74 | The head of the organizations and agencies may decide to open specific departments meant for national security or public needs.point 182 | Employees of all such departments will have to perform their duties on December 24, and there would be no holiday for them.point 284 | 1
Trump closed federal agencies in 2019 when Christmas Eve fell on Tuesday, and he practiced a similar thing in 2018 when Christmas Eve fell on Monday. 25 December is a federal holiday, but 24 December is not, so it is not sure the future presidents will continue this trend.