The United States Constitution does not explicitly establish a Cabinet. The Cabinet's role, inferred from the language of the Opinion Clause (Article II, Section 2, Clause 1) of the Constitution, is to serve as an advisory body to the president of the United States. Additionally, the Twenty-fifth Amendment authorizes the vice president, together with a majority of certain members of the Cabinet, to declare the president "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office".
Members of the Cabinet (except for the vice president) are appointed by the President, subject to confirmation by the Senate; once confirmed, they serve at the pleasure of the president, who can dismiss them at any time without the approval of the Senate, as affirmed by the Supreme Court in Myers v. United States (1926). All federal public officials, including Cabinet members, are also subject to impeachment by the House of Representatives and trial in the Senate for "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors" (Article II, Section 4).
The president can also unilaterally designate senior advisers from the Executive Office of the President and heads of other federal agencies as members of the Cabinet, although this is a symbolic status marker and does not, apart from attending Cabinet meetings, confer any additional powers.
A map showing the historical makeup of the Cabinet of the United States by year.
The tradition of the Cabinet arose out of the debates at the 1787 Constitutional Convention regarding whether the president would exercise executive authority singly or collaboratively with a cabinet of ministers or a privy council. As a result of the debates, the Constitution (Article II, Section 1, Clause 1) vests "all executive power" in the president singly, and authorizes—but does not compel—the president (Article II, Section 2, Clause 1) to "require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices".[1][2] The Constitution does not specify what the executive departments will be, how many there will be, or what their duties should be on.
Presidents have used Cabinet meetings of selected principal officers but to widely differing extents and for different purposes. Secretary of State William H. Seward and then-professor Woodrow Wilson advocated the use of a parliamentary-style Cabinet government. But President Abraham Lincoln rebuffed Seward, and Woodrow Wilson would have none of it in his administration. In recent administrations, Cabinets have grown to include key White House staff in addition to department and various agency heads. President Ronald Reagan formed seven subcabinet councils to review many policy issues, and subsequent Presidents have followed that practice.[2]
In 3 U.S.C.§ 302 with regard to delegation of authority by the president, it is provided that "nothing herein shall be deemed to require express authorization in any case in which such an official would be presumed in law to have acted by authority or direction of the President." This pertains directly to the heads of the executive departments as each of their offices is created and specified by statutory law (hence the presumption) and thus gives them the authority to act for the president within their areas of responsibility without any specific delegation.
Under the 1967 Federal Anti-Nepotism statute, federal officials are prohibited from appointing their immediate family members to certain governmental positions, including those in the Cabinet.[4]
Under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, an administration may appoint acting heads of department from employees of the relevant department. These may be existing high-level career employees, from political appointees of the outgoing administration (for new administrations), or sometimes lower-level appointees of the administration.[5]
The heads of the executive departments and all other federal agency heads are nominated by the president and then presented to the Senate for confirmation or rejection by a simple majority (although before the use of the "nuclear option" during the 113th US Congress, they could have been blocked by filibuster, requiring cloture to be invoked by 3⁄5supermajority to further consideration). If approved, they receive their commission scroll, are sworn in and then begin their duties.
The heads of the executive departments and most other senior federal officers at cabinet or sub-cabinet level receive their salary under a fixed five-level pay plan known as the Executive Schedule, which is codified in Title 5 of the United States Code. Twenty-one positions, including the heads of the executive departments and others, receiving Level I pay are listed in 5 U.S.C.§ 5312, and those forty-six positions on Level II pay (including the number two positions of the executive departments) are listed in 5 U.S.C.§ 5313. As of January 2016[update], the Level I annual pay was set at $205,700.[6]
The annual salary of the vice president is $235,300.[6] The salary level was set by the Government Salary Reform Act of 1989, which provides an automatic cost of living adjustment for federal employees. The vice president receives the same pension as other members of Congress based on his ex officio position as the president of the Senate.[7]
The individuals listed below were nominated by President Donald Trump to form his Cabinet and were confirmed by the United States Senate on the date noted, or are serving as acting department heads by his request pending the confirmation of his nominees. For a full list of people nominated for Cabinet positions, see Formation of Donald Trump's Cabinet.
Vice President and the heads of the executive departments[edit]
The Cabinet includes the vice president and the heads of 15 executive departments, listed here according to their order of succession to the presidency. These 15 positions are the core "cabinet member" seats, as distinct from other Cabinet-level seats for other various top level White House staffers and heads of other government agencies, none of whom are in the presidential line of succession and not all of whom are Officers of the United States.[8] Note that the speaker of the House and the president pro tempore of the Senate follow the vice president and precede the secretary of state in the order of succession, but both are in the legislative branch and are not part of the Cabinet.
Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (1996–2001): Created as an independent agency in 1979, raised to Cabinet rank in 1996,[13] and dropped from Cabinet rank in 2001.[14]
"Department of Industry and Commerce", proposed by Secretary of the Treasury William Windom in a speech given at a Chamber of Commerce dinner in May 1881.[22]
"Department of Social Welfare", proposed by President Franklin Roosevelt in January 1937.[29]
"Department of Public Works", proposed by President Franklin Roosevelt in January 1937.[29]
"Department of Conservation" (renamed Department of Interior) proposed by President Franklin Roosevelt in January 1937.[29]
"Department of Urban Affairs and Housing", proposed by President John F. Kennedy.[30]
"Department of Business and Labor", proposed by President Lyndon Johnson.[31]
"Department of Community Development", proposed by President Richard Nixon; to be chiefly concerned with rural infrastructure development.[24][32]
"Department of Human Resources" proposed by President Richard Nixon; essentially a revised Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.[24]
"Department of Economic Affairs" proposed by President Richard Nixon; essentially a consolidation of the Departments of Commerce, Labor, and Agriculture.[33]
"Department of Environmental Protection", proposed by Senator Arlen Specter and others.[34]
"Department of Business", proposed by President Barack Obama as a consolidation of the U.S. Department of Commerce's core business and trade functions, the Small Business Administration, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Export-Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency.[38][39]
"Department of Education and the Workforce" proposed by President Donald Trump as a consolidation of the Departments of Education and Labor.[40]
"Department of Health and Public Welfare" proposed by President Donald Trump as a renamed Department of Health and Human Services.[41]
"Department of Economic Development" proposed by Senator Elizabeth Warren to replace the Commerce Department, subsume other agencies like the Small Business Administration and the Patent and Trademark Office, and include research and development programs, worker training programs, and export and trade authorities like the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative with the a single goal of creating and defending good American jobs.[42]
"Department of Technology" proposed by businessman and 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang.[43]
^ abObama, Barack (December 19, 2014). "ADJUSTMENTS OF CERTAIN RATES OF PAY"(PDF). EXECUTIVE ORDER 13686. The White House. Archived(PDF) from the original on February 1, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
^The office of Secretary of Foreign Affairs existed under the Articles of Confederation from October 20, 1781 to March 3, 1789, the day before the Constitution came into force.
^Fowler, Daniel (November 19, 2008). "Emergency Managers Make It Official: They Want FEMA Out of DHS". CQ Politics. Archived from the original on November 29, 2008. Retrieved March 3, 2010. During the Clinton administration, FEMA Administrator James Lee Witt met with the Cabinet. His successor in the Bush administration, Joe M. Allbaugh, did not.(Archived March 3, 2010, by WebCite at
^Tenet, George (2007). At the Center of the Storm. London: HarperCollins. p. 136. ISBN0-06-114778-8. Under President Clinton, I was a Cabinet member—a legacy of John Deutch's requirement when he took the job as DCI—but my contacts with the president, while always interesting, were sporadic. I could see him as often as I wanted but was not on a regular schedule. Under President Bush, the DCI lost its Cabinet-level status.
^Schoenfeld, Gabriel (July–August 2007). "The CIA Follies (Cont'd.)". Commentary. Retrieved May 22, 2009. Though he was to lose the Cabinet rank he had enjoyed under Clinton, he came to enjoy "extraordinary access" to the new President, who made it plain that he wanted to be briefed every day.
^Sciolino, Elaine (September 29, 1996). "C.I.A. Chief Charts His Own Course". New York Times. Archived from the original on May 30, 2013. Retrieved May 22, 2009. It is no secret that Mr. Deutch initially turned down the intelligence position, and was rewarded for taking it by getting Cabinet rank.
^Clinton, Bill (July 1, 1993). "Remarks by the President and Lee Brown, Director of Office of National Drug Control Policy". White House. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved May 22, 2009. We are here today to install a uniquely qualified person to lead our nation's effort in the fight against illegal drugs and what they do to our children, to our streets, and to our communities. And to do it for the first time from a position sitting in the President's Cabinet.
^Cook, Dave (March 11, 2009). "New drug czar gets lower rank, promise of higher visibility". Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on March 15, 2009. Retrieved March 16, 2009. For one thing, in the Obama administration the Drug Czar will not have Cabinet status, as the job did during George W. Bush's administration.
^ abc"116 - Special Message to the Congress on Executive Branch Reorganization". The University of California, Santa Barbara - The American Presidency Project. Archived from the original on February 14, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2017. The administration is today transmitting to the Congress four bills which, if enacted, would replace seven of the present executive departments and several other agencies with four new departments: the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Community Development, the Department of Human Resources and the Department of Economic Affairs.
^"Republican Party Platform of 1976". The University of California, Santa Barbara - The American Presidency Project. August 18, 1976. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
^Schuman, Frederick L. (1969). Why a Department of Peace. Beverly Hills: Another Mother for Peace. p. 56. OCLC339785. Archived from the original on November 20, 2018. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
^ abc"10 - Summary of the Report of the Committee on Administrative Management". The University of California, Santa Barbara - The American Presidency Project. Archived from the original on February 13, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2017. Overhaul the more than 100 separate departments, boards, commissions, administrations, authorities, corporations, committees, agencies and activities which are now parts of the Executive Branch, and theoretically under the President, and consolidate them within twelve regular departments, which would include the existing ten departments and two new departments, a Department of Social Welfare, and a Department of Public Works. Change the name of the Department of Interior to Department of Conservation.
^"121 - Special Message to the Congress: The Quality of American Government". The University of California, Santa Barbara - The American Presidency Project. Archived from the original on February 14, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2017. In my State of the Union Address, and later in my Budget and Economic Messages to the Congress, I proposed the creation of a new Department of Business and Labor.
^"116 - Special Message to the Congress on Executive Branch Reorganization". The University of California, Santa Barbara - The American Presidency Project. Archived from the original on February 14, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2017. The new Department of Economic Affairs would include many of the offices that are now within the Departments of Commerce, Labor and Agriculture. A large part of the Department of Transportation would also be relocated here, including the United States Coast Guard, the Federal Railroad Administration, the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Transportation Systems Center, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Motor Carrier Safety Bureau and most of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The Small Business Administration, the Science Information Exchange program from the Smithsonian Institution, the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare and the Office of Technology Utilization from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration would also be included in the new Department.
Bennett, Anthony. The American President's Cabinet. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Macmillan, 1996. ISBN0-333-60691-4. A study of the U.S. Cabinet from Kennedy to Clinton.
Grossman, Mark. Encyclopedia of the United States Cabinet (Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO; three volumes, 2000; reprint, New York: Greyhouse Publishing; two volumes, 2010). A history of the United States and Confederate States Cabinets, their secretaries, and their departments.
Rudalevige, Andrew. "The President and the Cabinet", in Michael Nelson, ed., The Presidency and the Political System, 8th ed. (Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2006).
The secretary of state is a senior official of the federal government of the United States of America, and as head of the United States Department of State, is principally concerned with foreign policy and is considered to be the U.S. government's minister of foreign affairs.
Executive Office of the President of the United States
The Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP) is a group of agencies at the center of the executive branch of the United States federal government. The EOP supports the work of the president. It consists of several offices and agencies, such as the White House Office, the National Security Council, and the Office of Management and Budget. Some of these play a very important role in the implementation and regulation of public policy.
United States Secretary of Health and Human Services
The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services is the head of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, concerned with health matters. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet. The office was formerly Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.
United States Secretary of Transportation
The United States secretary of transportation is the head of the United States Department of Transportation, a member of the president's Cabinet, and fourteenth in the presidential Line of Succession. The post was created with the formation of the Department of Transportation on October 15, 1966, by President Lyndon B. Johnson's signing of the Department of Transportation Act. The department's mission is "to develop and coordinate policies that will provide an efficient and economical national transportation system, with due regard for need, the environment, and the national defense." The secretary of transportation oversees eleven agencies, including the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Highway Administration, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In April 2008, Mary Peters launched the official blog of the secretary of transportation called "The Fast Lane".
List of female United States Cabinet Secretaries
The United States Cabinet has had 32 female officers. No woman held a Cabinet position before the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1920, which prohibits states and the federal government from denying any citizen the right to vote because of that citizen's sex.
Powers of the president of the United States
The powers of the president of the United States include those powers explicitly granted by Article II of the United States Constitution to the president of the United States, powers granted by Acts of Congress, implied powers, and also a great deal of soft power that is attached to the presidency.
Office of Science and Technology Policy
The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is a department of the United States government, part of the Executive Office of the President (EOP), established by United States Congress on May 11, 1976, with a broad mandate to advise the President on the effects of science and technology on domestic and international affairs.
Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere
The Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, or USC(OA), is a high-ranking official in the United States Department of Commerce and the principal advisor to the United States Secretary of Commerce on the environmental and scientific activities of the Department. The Under Secretary is dual hatted as the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration within the Commerce Department.
List of foreign-born United States Cabinet Secretaries
As of 2013, the United States Cabinet has had 20 appointed members in its history who were born outside the present-day United States. Alexander Hamilton, one of the Founding Fathers who signed the United States Constitution, was the first Cabinet member to be born outside of the United States. Born in Nevis in 1755, Hamilton was appointed by President George Washington as the country's first Secretary of Treasury in 1789. Irish-born James McHenry, who was appointed by Washington as Secretary of War in 1796 and served the same post in John Adams's administration, was the other foreign-born individual in Washington's Cabinet. Albert Gallatin, born in Switzerland became the third foreign-born member of the Cabinet when he was named Secretary of Treasury by President Thomas Jefferson. Gallatin, his successor George Campbell, William Duane, Carl Schurz and James Wilson were the only foreign-born members to hold Cabinet positions in the 19th century. In the 20th century, nine foreign-born individuals were appointed to the Cabinet, including German-born Oscar Straus and Mexican-born George Romney, the latter of whom was born to American parents and is the father of former Governor of Massachusetts, 2012 Republican U.S. presidential candidate and current U.S. Senator from Utah Mitt Romney. During the tenure of President George W. Bush, three more foreign-born individuals were appointed to the Cabinet—Elaine Chao, Mel Martinez in 2001 and Carlos Gutierrez in 2005.
White House Cabinet Secretary
The White House Cabinet Secretary is a high-ranking position within the Executive Office of the President of the United States. The Cabinet Secretary is the head of the Office of Cabinet Affairs within the White House Office and the primary liaison between the President of the United States and the Cabinet departments and agencies. The position is often held concurrently with Assistant to the President.
Cabinet of Donald Trump
This article lists the members of President Donald Trump's Cabinet. Trump assumed office on January 20, 2017, and the president has the authority to nominate members of his Cabinet to the United States Senate for confirmation under Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution.
First 100 days of Donald Trump's presidency
The first 100 days of Donald Trump's presidency began on January 20, 2017, the day Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States. The first 100 days of a presidential term took on symbolic significance during Franklin D. Roosevelt's first term in office, and the period is considered a benchmark to measure the early success of a president. The 100th day of his presidency was April 29, 2017. Trump first announced his plan for the first hundred days of his presidency in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on October 23, 2016, before the election.
Political appointments by Donald Trump
This is a list of political appointments of current officeholders made by the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump.
Patrick Pizzella
Patrick Pizzella is an American government official who has served as the United States Deputy Secretary of Labor since April 17, 2018. He was formerly a member of the Federal Labor Relations Authority appointed by President Barack Obama. He held positions in several agencies during four prior Administrations. In 2019, after the resignation of Alexander Acosta, Pizzella served as the acting United States Secretary of Labor for more than 2 months.
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