George H.W. Bush National Day of Mourning closes banks and Wall Street
Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation’s Julie Finck discusses the passing of former President George H.W. Bush.
President Trump declared Wednesday a national day of mourning to honor former President George H.W. Bush ahead of his state funeral in Washington, D.C.
While a day of mourning is rare, generally observed after the death of a president – the last one was on Jan. 2, 2007 on the day of Gerald Ford’s funeral – a lot of services are affected, including the closures of the federal government and financial markets.
Here is a full breakdown of what is closed on Wednesday:
- The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq will be closed.
- All federal offices will be closed and most federal workers will be excused from work. However, some employees, in certain roles, will have to report to work that day.
- The Supreme Court will delay arguments by a day, the House has canceled all scheduled votes for the week, and the Senate will not have any votes until after the funeral.
- The U.S. Postal Service will close all post offices around the country and suspend regular mail delivery. However, some package delivery will continue.
- Some banks and local courts around the country will also be closed. The Federal Reserve Bank payment systems will work as normal.
- According to the White House website, the American flag will be displayed at “half-staff at the White House and on all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions for a period of 30 days from the day of his death.”