NORAD must follow Santa Claus and USPS must deliver packages despite a partial halt

Not even a government shutdown can cancel Christmas for children who eagerly watch her progress in the world and wait for gifts in the mail.

As Thousands Of federal employees likely to return home amid traffic jams in Washington after a partial shutdown on Saturday morning and even more likely to work without pay, several agencies assured children and adults that Christmas was always coming.

North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) tweeted on Friday that it was ready to track Santa's flight around the world, as he has been doing for over six years decades.

"The soldiers who run Santa Claus on the NORAD runway are supported by about 1500 volunteers who make the program possible every year," the tweet reads.

First lady Melania Trump, arriving at the Mar-a-Lago complex in Palm Beach, Florida, said she would remain involved in the annual NORAD call tradition the day before. Christmas.

According to the United States, gifts are still being sent to children and to the families of the country Postal Service.

In a tweet from Saturday, the postal service said that he would not be affected by the closure of the government either.

"All post offices will remain open for business Because we are an independent entity financed by the sale of our products and services, not by taxes, our services will not be affected by a government closure" , tweeted the service.

And for those who visit Washington during the holidays, a trip to the Smithsonian's 19 museums would still be possible until 1 January 2019.

In a tweet the Smithsonian said that he would use the funding from the previous year to stay open. He added that he is still closed on Christmas Day.

"In the event of a closure of the #Government, our museums, our research centers and the national zoo will be OPEN until January 1," he tweeted on Friday.

New York City would also still be able to visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, according to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who said the state would intervene to keep the entities open.

"We will not allow President Trump to dislike The symbol of division brings together the true representations of who we are as a state and as a nation," said Cuomo.

But while volunteers help children track Santa across the world and monuments work to stay open, more than 420,000 federal employees will be needed. to work without pay as part of the partial closure, according to a summary sheet prepared by the Democratic senators.

TSA employees, correctional officers, FBI agents, US Marshals, border police officers, Coast Guard employees, Forest Service firefighters and Weath According to the fact sheet, approximately 380,000 federal employees will be sent home.

Kalhan Rosenblatt

Kalhan Rosenblatt is a reporter for NBC News. York.