Cabinet of the United States

The cabinet of the United States is a group of appointed government officials whose job is to act as an advisory council to the president. The members of the cabinet are made up of the vice president and the leaders of the executive departments of the federal government. Each member is available to consult with the president on matters concerning his or her specific department. The members of the cabinet are also part of the order of presidential succession should the president die in office or become incapacitated. The idea of the cabinet was loosely suggested by the US Constitution and put into practice by President George Washington. Washington’s cabinet consisted of four members—the secretary of the treasury, the secretary of state, the secretary of war, and the attorney general. By 2018, the number of executive departments had increased to fifteen, with the Department of Homeland Security the most recent addition in 2002.

Background

The name cabinet to refer to a panel of political advisors most likely originated around the turn of the seventeenth century when the word was used to describe a private room where a council met. When the Founding Fathers of the United States were discussing the details of the Constitution in 1787, they proposed forming a “privy council” to act as advisors to the president. When they could not agree on whom was to make up this council, they left only a vague reference in the finished document. Article II of the Constitution states that the president may appoint—with Senate approval—leaders of departments within the executive branch of the government, and that he “may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive departments.”

Within months after George Washington became the nation’s first president in 1789, he saw the need for an advisory council and took it upon himself to create his own. He named Alexander Hamilton as the first secretary of the treasury, Thomas Jefferson as secretary of state, Henry Knox as secretary of war, and Edmund Randolph as attorney general—the chief legal officer of the United States. Washington initially met with his advisors individually, as he saw fit; however, by 1791, he began holding regular meetings with the group. In 1797, the leader of the Department of the Navy was added to the group. The first known use of the term the “president’s cabinet” to describe the council is often attributed to James Madison, who served as president from 1809 to 1817. Madison likely borrowed the term from the British, who used it to refer to their advisory bodies.

The postmaster general became a cabinet post in 1829, although that position lost cabinet status in 1971. From 1849 to 1913, four new departments—interior, agriculture, commerce, and labor—were added to the cabinet. In 1921, President Warren Harding asked his vice president to attend cabinet meetings; President Dwight Eisenhower made the vice president an official part of the cabinet in the 1950s. The Department of the Air Force was established in 1947; however, two years later, it was consolidated—along with the Departments of War and the Navy—into the Department of Defense.

The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was established in 1953; when the Department of Education was spun off in 1979, the agency was renamed the Department of Health and Human Services. In 1965, the Department of Housing and Urban Development was added to the cabinet; a year later, the Department of Transportation was created. The Department of Energy became a cabinet post in 1977, as did the Department of Veterans Affairs in 1989. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush formed the newest cabinet position, the Department of Homeland Security.

Overview

The president can nominate anyone to be a member of his cabinet, as long as the nominee is not a member of Congress or a sitting governor. After the president makes his choice for a position, the nominee is placed before the Senate for a vote, with a simple majority needed for confirmation. The secretaries of the various departments act as individual advisors to the president on issues concerning his or her field of expertise. They also serve to bring issues concerning those departments to the president’s attention. Regular meetings of the entire cabinet are held at the president’s discretion in a conference room on the first floor of the White House. The president can also call special cabinet meetings in case of emergency. The meetings are meant to be a way for the president and members of his administration to exchange ideas, ensure cooperation, and discuss interdepartmental business.

The original four cabinet positions—the secretaries of the treasury, state, and defense, and the attorney general—are given more prestige as their offices handle the more pressing needs of the country—finance, international relations, the military, and law. These four positions are sometimes referred to as the inner cabinet. The members of the cabinet are also arranged in a hierarchy as part of the presidential line of succession. If the president dies, resigns, or is unable to perform his duties, the vice president is first in line to succeed him. After the vice president comes the speaker of the House of Representatives and the leader of the Senate. If those officials are unable to serve, the secretary of state will assume the presidency. The line of succession then continues throughout the cabinet in the order in which the department was established.

The secretary of state is the top diplomat of the United States and the president’s chief advisor on matters of foreign policy. The secretary does not make foreign policy decisions but rather implements the decisions made by the president. The secretary is also responsible for overseeing negotiations with foreign governments, handling US immigration law overseas, and advising the president on appointments of ambassadors and other diplomatic representatives. The secretary is head of the Department of State, a federal agency with more than seventy-five thousand employees. Six former secretaries of state—Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Martin Van Buren, and James Buchanan—later went on to become president of the United States.

The secretary of the treasury is the top advisor to the president on economic, financial, and monetary matters concerning the United States. As head of the Department of the Treasury, the secretary oversees the Internal Revenue Service, the government’s tax-collecting bureau and the largest agency in the department. The department is also responsible for producing the nation’s coins and currency and enforcing counterfeiting and tax laws. Two former secretaries of the treasury—Alexander Hamilton and Salmon Chase—appear on US currency, Hamilton on the $10 bill and Chase on the $10,000 bill.

The secretary of defense is the main presidential advisor on national defense policy. The secretary oversees the Department of Defense, the federal agency with administrative control over the US Army, Navy, and Air Force. The secretary of defense is a civilian position. Military personnel are not eligible for the post until they have been out of active military service for a period of seven years. The secretary is second only to the president in the military chain of command. The Department of Defense is the nation’s largest employer, with more than 2.8 million military and civilian employees.

The attorney general is the chief law enforcement official of the United States. The attorney general represents the nation in legal matters and has the final authority in seeking the federal death penalty. He or she also advises the president on legal issues and makes recommendations for judicial appointments. Since 1870, the attorney general has been in charge of the Department of Justice (DOJ), the law enforcement arm of the federal government. Among the agencies in the DOJ are the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

The secretary of the interior oversees the Department of the Interior, an agency that manages and protects the nation’s federal lands, wildlife, water, and natural resources. The department’s oldest bureau, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, manages more than fifty-five million acres of Native American land. Among the other agencies in the department are the National Park Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the US Geological Survey—a scientific body that studies environmental biology, geology, and geography.

The secretary of agriculture is head of the Department of Agriculture. The department is responsible for the US farming industry and protecting the nation’s food supply by ensuring its safety. The secretary administers funding for agricultural research and manages the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps. The US Forest Service is also part of the Department of Agriculture.

The secretary of commerce is tasked with supporting US businesses both within the country and overseas. As head of the Department of Commerce, the secretary’s duties include promoting and regulating exports and foreign trade. The secretary also implements trade agreements passed by Congress. Among the agencies overseen by the department are the US Census Bureau, the Patent and Trademark Office, and the National Weather Service.

The secretary of labor oversees the Department of Labor. The department is responsible for issues concerning US workers and the workplace, such as ensuring standards for wages, hours worked, safety, and unemployment benefits. The secretary’s duties also include enforcing labor laws and compiling and analyzing labor statistics. Frances Perkins, who served as secretary of labor from 1933 to 1945, was the first woman appointed to a cabinet position in the United States.

The secretary of health and human services is in charge of the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency is responsible for promoting public health and welfare, including administering the nation’s Medicaid and Medicare programs. Among the other agencies that fall under the department’s control are the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes of Health.

The secretary of housing and urban development oversees programs to ensure fair and affordable housing and community development. The secretary heads the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which runs the Federal Housing Administration and administers home loans under the Government National Mortgage Association, or Ginnie Mae.

The secretary of transportation is responsible for coordinating the nation’s transportation system and negotiating international transportation agreements. As head of the Department of Transportation, the secretary also enforces the nation’s airline safety regulations and federal laws concerning driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

The secretary of energy heads the Department of Energy, a cabinet position created in the 1970s in response to a nationwide gas and oil shortage. The department is responsible for coordinating a national energy policy to ensure such a crisis does not occur again. In addition, the department is also tasked with developing new energy technologies through scientific advancement.

The secretary of education is responsible for implementing educational policies determined at the federal level. The secretary is in charge of the Department of Education, which is tasked with ensuring the nation’s schools offer a quality education, establishing standards for financial aid, and collecting educational statistics.

The secretary of veterans affairs runs the Department of Veterans Affairs. The agency is responsible for providing American veterans and their families with health care services, benefits, and access to national cemeteries. The agency has the second-largest federal workforce with more than three hundred thousand employees as of 2018.

The secretary of homeland security became a cabinet position with the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. The department’s main responsibilities are to prevent terrorism and maintain security on US soil. Among the federal agencies placed under the department’s control are the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Secret Service, and the US Coast Guard.

In addition to the heads of the fifteen cabinet departments, seven presidential appointees are considered cabinet-level positions. These include the White House chief of staff, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, the United States trade representative, the US ambassador to the United Nations, the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, and the leader of the Small Business Administration. These appointees attend cabinet meetings, but they are not considered official members of the cabinet.

Bibliography

“The Cabinet.” White House, www.whitehouse.gov/the-trump-administration/the-cabinet/. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.

Greenspan, Jesse. “History of the Presidential Cabinet.” History.com, 2 Oct. 2023, www.history.com/news/history-of-the-presidential-cabinet. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.

“Our Story.” US Department of Defense, www.defense.gov/Our-Story/. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.

Philpott, Don. Understanding the Department of State. Bernan Press, 2015.

Roos, Dave. “How the Cabinet Works.” How Stuff Works, 17 July 2012, people.howstuffworks.com/cabinet.htm. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.

Talgo, Chris, and Emma Kaden. “The President’s Cabinet: Then and Now.” American Thinker, 5 Oct. 2018, www.americanthinker.com/articles/2018/10/the‗presidents‗cabinet‗then‗and‗now.html. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.