Executive Order 13713 Constitutional Fidelity (+0.44)

Executive Order 13713—Half-Day Closing of Executive Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government on Thursday, December 24, 2015

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Friday, December 11, 2015

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2 min read (330 words)

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

This executive order, signed by President Barack Obama on 2015-12-11, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Half-Day Closing of Executive Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government on Thursday, December 24, 2015." It outlines operative directives for executive department officers, delegating enforcement responsibilities and establishing official governance guidelines.

Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

▪ All executive branch departments and agencies of the Federal Government shall be closed and their employees excused from duty for the last half of the scheduled workday on Thursday, December 24, 2015, the day before Christmas Day, except as provided in section 2 of this order.

▪ Thursday, December 24, 2015, shall be considered as falling within the scope of Executive Order 11582 of February 11, 1971, and of 5 U.S.C.

▪ The Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall take such actions as may be necessary to implement this order.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners

Total Words

330

1,975 characters

Estimated Read Time

2 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

17.2

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

+0.44

Framers' Alignment index

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 13713, Barack Obama (Dec 11, 2015). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-13713-half-day-closing-executive-departments-and-agencies-the-federal.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

By the authority vested in me as President of the United States of America, by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. All executive branch departments and agencies of the Federal Government shall be closed and their employees excused from duty for the last half of the scheduled workday on Thursday, December 24, 2015, the day before Christmas Day, except as provided in section 2 of this order. Sec. 2 . The heads of executive branch departments and agencies may determine that certain offices and installations of their organizations, or parts thereof, must remain open and that certain employees must remain on duty for the full scheduled workday on December 24, 2015, for reasons of national security, defense, or other public need. Sec. 3 . Thursday, December 24, 2015, shall be considered as falling within the scope of Executive Order 11582 of February 11, 1971, and of 5 U.S.C. 5546 and 6103(b) and other similar statutes insofar as they relate to the pay and leave of employees of the United States. Sec. 4 . The Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall take such actions as may be necessary to implement this order. Sec. 5 . General Provisions . (a) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations. (b) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect: (i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or (ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals. (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person. BARACK OBAMA The White House, December 11, 2015.