Post Office, Stock Market Among Closures for Tomorrow’s Holiday Honoring Former President Bush

Wednesday, December 5th, has been declared a day of mourning by President Trump. Most federal employees will be excused from work, including the Postal Service.

ed that it will be closed on Wednesday, December 5, 2018 on the national day of mourning that was declared by President Trump’s executive order closing federal offices.

The Postal Service said in a statement:

President Donald J. Trump has proclaimed Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018, as a National Day of Mourning in remembrance of former President George H.W. Bush.

Out of respect for the 41st President of the United States and to honor his vast contributions to our country during his lifetime, and consistent with the Presidential Proclamation, the United States Postal Service will suspend regular mail deliveries, retail services and administrative office activity on Dec.  5.

We will provide limited package delivery service on that day to ensure that our network remains fluid and we do not experience any impacts to our package delivery operations that might negatively affect our customers or business partners during the remainder of our busy holiday season.

The Postal Service also said that all retail locations will be closed on Wednesday in observance of the holiday.

Stock Market

The stock market will also be closed on Wednesday. The New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq Stock Exchange and U.S. bond market will all close in honor of former President George H.W. Bush.

This means that the Thrift Savings Plan will also be closed and will not update share prices. Transactions that would have been processed Wednesday night (December 5) will be processed Thursday night (December 6) at Thursday’s closing share prices.

It is a tradition for the stock market to close for funerals of former presidents. The last closure was on January, 2, 2007 for Gerald Ford’s funeral, and markets were also closed in June 2004 for Ronald Reagan and in April 1994 for Richard Nixon.

About the Author

Ian Smith is one of the co-founders of FedSmith.com. He has over 20 years of combined experience in media and government services, having worked at two government contracting firms and an online news and web development company prior to his current role at FedSmith.