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President Donald Trump is granting most federal employees two additional days off around Christmas under an executive order signed Thursday afternoon. The order gives eligible federal workers leave on Dec. 24 and Dec. 26, effectively creating a five-day holiday break when combined with Christmas Day and the weekend, Fox News reported.
“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,” the order stated.
The move marks the first time in recent years that federal employees have been granted two additional days off around Christmas. Presidents have typically authorized either the day before or the day after the holiday, but granting both is far less common.
The executive order notes that agency heads may require certain offices to remain open for reasons of “national security, defense, or other urgent public need.” It also specifies that the additional days off are to be treated like federal holidays for purposes of pay and leave rules, Fox noted.
The order directs the Office of Personnel Management to take the necessary steps to implement the policy across the federal workforce.
Last year, then-President Joe Biden granted federal employees Christmas Eve off. During Trump’s first term, federal employees received an extra day off for Christmas Eve in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
When Christmas last fell on a Thursday in 2014, former President Barack Obama granted only Friday, Dec. 26, as a day off, leaving Wednesday as a regular workday, Fox added.
During his nationwide speech Wednesday evening, Trump announced that his administration would be paying out a one-time bonus of $1,776 to U.S. military personnel to signify the year the Continental Congress declared America’s independence from Great Britain.
The bonuses come months before the nation’s 250th birthday: July 4, 2026.
During his address, Trump implied that the bonuses had been planned for some time but had been kept under wraps.
“Along with the just passed one Big Beautiful bill, tonight, I am also proud to announce that more than 1450 thousand — think of this: 1,450,000 military service members will receive a special — we call it warrior dividend, before Christmas, a warrior dividend,” Trump said.
“In honor of our nation’s founding in 1776, we are sending every soldier $1776. Think of that. And the checks are already on the way. Nobody understood that one until about 30 minutes ago,” he added.
On Wednesday, the Senate sent a significant defense package to President Trump, completing one of the last major legislative tasks for the year.
Lawmakers came together to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a comprehensive $901 billion bill packed with defense policies that allocate funding for several of the Trump administration’s national defense priorities.
The measure received strong bipartisan support, passing the upper chamber with a vote of 77-20. This legislative exercise is an annual routine for Congress, typically wrapping up the year without much controversy.
This year’s National Defense Authorization Act faced turbulence in the House that at times threatened its passage. While consideration in the Senate was less contentious, unresolved disputes over several provisions still raised concerns among lawmakers.
One flashpoint drew bipartisan pushback: a proposal to ease certain safety restrictions in the airspace over Washington, D.C., following a deadly collision earlier this year between a Black Hawk helicopter and a passenger jet near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport that killed 67 people.
