Executive Order 14371: Providing for the Closing of Executive Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government on December 24, 2025, and December 26, 2025
President: Donald J. Trump
Closed most federal executive departments and agencies on December 24 and 26, 2025.
Status: Completed/expired.
Is Executive Order 14371 still in effect? No. The closure dates in the December 18, 2025 order were December 24 and December 26, 2025; both have passed. Its pay and leave provisions concern those dates, not recurring annual holidays. Signed order.
What does Executive Order 14371 do?
Employees were excused on the two dates around Christmas; agency heads could keep offices open for national security, defense or other public need. The order also addressed federal pay and leave treatment and tasked OPM with implementation.
Later official evidence reviewed September 26, 2026: OPM issued pay and leave guidance for the 24 and December 26, 2025 federal closures. Agency heads could still require staff for national security, defense, or other public needs.
Reading the operative provisions of Executive Order 14371
EO 14371 closed most federal executive departments and agencies on December 24 and December 26, 2025, excusing many employees from duty on those dates. The Federal Register text sets out the one-time closure and exceptions for offices or employees needed for national security, defense or other public needs. The dates have passed, so the order is completed rather than an ongoing holiday rule.
A federal office closure does not mean every government service stops. Agencies may maintain emergency operations, security, law enforcement and public-facing services where continued work is necessary. The order also provides how the days are treated for federal pay and leave purposes. Employees should rely on their agency’s implementation notice for duty status and timekeeping, because offices can apply exceptions based on operational needs.
The order concerns executive-branch offices and does not automatically close Congress, the courts, state governments, private businesses or every contractor. A closure date also differs from a federal holiday established by statute. The order’s effect was limited to the specified days and employees covered by its terms. It should not be cited as authority for a future closure without a new presidential or agency action.
OPM issued its implementation memorandum on December 18, 2025. Most excused employees kept the basic pay they otherwise would have earned, and scheduled annual leave generally was not charged. The memorandum identifies exceptions for certain standby-duty employees and firefighters; a closure was not a universal entitlement for every pay system. Memorandum and questions 1–4.
OPM distinguished flexible from compressed schedules and said part-time and intermittent employees did not receive an in-lieu-of holiday. It directed employees to agency HR and postal or contract personnel to their supervisors or contracting officers. Those limits matter before applying a general closure announcement to a particular work schedule. Questions 2–8 and employee contacts.
What happened after
Verified actions after the order
OPM issued pay and leave guidance for the 24 and December 26, 2025 federal closures. Agency heads could still require staff for national security, defense, or other public needs.
Who had to do what
| Agency / office | Action | Timing / position |
|---|---|---|
| Executive departments and agencies | Close and excuse employees, except as agency heads determine under section 2. | December 24 and December 26, 2025; section 1. |
| Agency heads | May keep offices, installations or parts open and require employees to report for national security, defense or other public needs. | Either or both specified dates; section 2. |
| Director of the Office of Personnel Management | Take necessary implementation actions; OPM also bears publication costs. | For the specified closures; sections 4 and 5(d) give no separate numerical deadline. |
Signed assignments. These are assignments in the signed order, not evidence that every office closed. OPM’s dated memo is documented implementation; individual duty and payroll decisions remain agency-specific.
What happened next
Executive Order 14371 signed.
OPM issued CPM 2025-17, with pay, leave and work-schedule instructions. Dated implementation memorandum.
Order published in the Federal Register.
First closure date specified by the order, subject to agency-head exceptions. Sections 1–2.
Second and final specified closure date. The instrument did not establish a recurring December 24 or December 26 holiday. Sections 1–3.
Legal and source detail
How it works legally
Section 3 applies the holiday pay and leave framework of EO 11582, 5 U.S.C. 5546 and 6103(b), and similar provisions to these dates. Section 6103’s recurring holiday list includes Christmas Day, not an annual December 24 or December 26 holiday. Section 3; Statutory holidays and EO 11582 notes.
For covered nonovertime holiday work, section 5546(b) provides basic pay plus an equal holiday premium; subsection (c) provides a two-hour minimum for required holiday work. OPM’s memorandum explains coverage and special-pay exceptions. A general rule is not an individual payroll determination. 5 U.S.C. 5546(b)–(d); Implementation exceptions.
Sources by type
If a source is unavailable, first check the cited publisher or another official repository. The cited publisher remains the authority.
Primary and official sources
Orders, laws, court records and official implementation material.
How we checked this
Last checked against the sources above on September 26, 2026. How we research →
Additional evidence review: October 17, 2026. Read the signed order and the full nine-page OPM memorandum and questions and answers, alongside the cited pay and holiday provisions. The dates have passed; no inference is made that every office closed or that every employee qualified for identical pay treatment.