Government operations and workforce

Executive Order 13965: Providing for the Closing of Executive Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government on December 24, 2020

President: Donald J. Trump

Closed most federal executive departments and agencies on December 24, 2020, while allowing essential offices to remain open.

Status: Completed/expired. Is Executive Order 13965 still in effect? No. Executive Order 13965 authorized a federal agency closure only for December 24, 2020, with exceptions for national security, defense, or public need. That one-day closure has ended; the order does not establish an annual Christmas Eve holiday. See Executive Order 13965: December 24, 2020 Closure.

What does Executive Order 13965 do?

EO 13965 ordered a one-day federal closure with statutory exceptions for essential operations.

Later primary evidence reviewed September 24, 2026: OPM issued guidance on the December 24, 2020 closure and pay treatment for excused employees under this order, subject to essential-service exceptions. Official source. The cited steps do not establish every downstream effect.

Administration position: Any policy rationale or projected benefit in the order is the administration’s position. This index record does not treat those claims as independently established facts.
SignedDecember 11, 2020
IssuerPresident Donald J. Trump
TermFirst presidential term

Before and after

Before the order

The regular federal holiday and leave rules did not themselves close agencies on December 24, 2020.

After the order

OPM issued guidance on the December 24, 2020 closure and pay treatment for excused employees under this order, subject to essential-service exceptions.

Who had to do what

Agency / officeActionTiming / position
PresidentSigned and issued the orderDecember 11, 2020
Named agencies and officialsCarry out directions specified in the orderAccording to the primary text

What happened next

Executive Order 13965 signed.

Later primary evidence reviewed: OPM issued guidance on the December 24, 2020 closure and pay treatment for excused employees under this order, subject to essential-service exceptions.