Did Trump make Christmas Eve a federal holiday? Federal workers to get Dec. 24, Dec. 26 off
President Donald Trump has designated Christmas Eve and Dec. 26 as federal holidays this year through an executive order.
Paired with the annual Christmas Day holiday on Dec. 25, the move gives many federal employees three consecutive days off during Christmas week. The order applies only to this year and does not permanently alter the federal holiday calendar.
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The directive allows agency leaders to require certain offices to remain open and some employees to report to work on one or both days.
Temporary holiday declarations around Christmas are not unprecedented. President Joe Biden granted federal workers Dec. 24 off last year, and Trump issued similar one-day holiday orders during his first term.
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Here are the 12 paid federal holidays we’ve observed this year.
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- Jan. 1, 2025 – New Year’s Day
- Jan. 20, 2025 – Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr.
- Jan. 20, 2025 – Inauguration Day
- Feb. 17, 2025 – Washington’s Birthday
- May 26, 2025 – Memorial Day
- June 19, 2025 – Juneteenth National Independence Day
- July 4, 2025 – Independence Day
- Sept. 1, 2025 – Labor Day
- Oct. 13, 2025 – Indigenous People’s Day
- Nov. 11, 2025 – Veterans Day
- Nov. 27, 2025 – Thanksgiving Day
- Dec. 25, 2025 – Christmas Day
Trump signs executive order making Christmas Eve and December 26 federal holidays
by: Veronica Catlin
Posted: Dec 18, 2025 / 10:24 PM PST
Updated: Dec 18, 2025 / 10:32 PM PST
(FOX40.COM) — Just days ahead of Christmas, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that declares Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas federal holidays.
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The order was signed on Thursday and says, “All executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government shall be closed and their employees excused from duty on Wednesday, December 24, 2025, and Friday, December 26, 2025, the day before and the day following Christmas Day, respectively.“Northern California man gets jail time for hate crime against local news reporter
Although most federal workers will have three days off for the holiday, the heads of executive departments and agencies may decide to keep certain offices open and require employees to work, according to the order.
It is unclear whether the executive order will be extended past 2025. To permanently and legally recognize the day before and after Christmas as a federal holiday, Congress would need to pass legislation, and the president would then need to sign it into law.
