(Redirected from U.S. Cabinet)
The 'United States Cabinet' (usually simplified as "the Cabinet") is composed of the most senior appointed officers of the
executive branch of the
federal government of the United States, and its existence dates back to the first
American President (
George Washington), who appointed a Cabinet of four people (
Secretary of State,
Thomas Jefferson;
Secretary of the Treasury,
Alexander Hamilton;
Secretary of War,
Henry Knox; and
Attorney General,
Edmund Randolph) to advise and assist him in his duties. Cabinet officers are nominated by the President and then presented to the
United States Senate for
confirmation or rejection by a simple majority. If approved, they are
sworn in, receive the title "Secretary," (except the Attorney General) and begin their duties.
Constitutional and legal basis
Constitutional references
Article Two of the Constitution provides that the President can 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." The Constitution did not then establish the names (or list or limit the number) of Cabinet departments; those details were left to the
Congress to determine.
Later, upon addition of the
25th Amendment to the Constitution, a provision was created allowing that the
Vice President and "a majority of the principal officers" of the executive branch departments may transmit a notice (to the
Speaker of the House and the
Senate President Pro tempore) that the President is unfit for office. If the President contests this finding, the Congress is directed to settle the matter.
The Cabinet in federal law
There is no explicit definition of the term "Cabinet" in either the
United States Code or the
Code of Federal Regulations. However, there are occasional references to "cabinet-level officers" or "secretaries", which when viewed in context appear to refer to the heads of the "executive departments" as listed in .
Article 5, Section 3110 of the
United States Code, however, does prohibit federal officials from appointing family members to certain governmental posts, including seats on the Cabinet. Passed in 1967, the law is apparently a response to
John F. Kennedy's appointment of
Robert F. Kennedy to the post of Attorney General of the United States.
Significance
Recent decline in influence
Though the Cabinet is still an important organ of bureaucratic management, in recent years, the Cabinet has generally declined in relevance as a policy making body. Starting with President
Franklin Roosevelt, the trend has been for Presidents to act through the
Executive Office of the President or the
National Security Council rather than through the Cabinet. This has created a situation in which non-Cabinet officials such as the
White House Chief of Staff, the
Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and the
National Security Advisor have power as large as or larger than some Cabinet officials.
Traditionally, the most powerful and relevant Cabinet members are the
Secretary of State, the
Secretary of the Treasury, the
Secretary of Defense, and the
Attorney General. In recent years, the
Secretary of Homeland Security has risen to a level of significance that is arguably closer to the "'big four'" than to the other cabinet offices.
During a meeting of the President's Cabinet, members are seated according to the
order of precedence, with higher ranking officers sitting closer to the center ot the table. Hence, the President and Vice President sit directly across from each other at the middle of the oval shaped table. Then, the Secretaries of State and Defense are seated directly to the right and left, respectively, of the President and the Secretary of Treasury and the Attorney General sit to right and left, respectively, of the Vice President. This alternation according to rank continues, with Cabinet-rank members (those not heading executive departments; the Vice President excluded) sitting at the very ends, furthest away from the president and vice president.
Line of succession
The Cabinet is also important in the
presidential line of succession, which determines an order in which Cabinet officers succeed to the office of the president following the death or resignation of the
Vice President,
Speaker of the House and the
President pro tempore of the Senate. Because of this, it is common practice not to have the entire Cabinet in one location, even for ceremonial occasions like the
State of the Union Address, where at least one Cabinet member does not attend. This person is the
designated survivor, and they are held at a secure, undisclosed location, ready to take over if the President, Vice President, and the rest of the Cabinet are killed.
Current Cabinet
'†' On
27 August 2007, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced his resignation, effective
17 September 2007. Barring unforseen circumstances, he will continue to serve as Attorney General and remain a member of the Cabinet until 17 September.
'†' On
17 July 2007, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson announced he has tendered his resignation to President George W. Bush and will leave his post no later than
1 October 2007.
Cabinet-level administration offices
Six positions have cabinet-level rank, which allows these individuals to attend Cabinet meetings without being Secretaries of Executive Departments. They are:
Level I of the Executive Schedule
Level I of the Executive Schedule is the pay grade for cabinet officials. In addition to the fifteen cabinet secretaries, seven positions are listed in the Level I, of which only four (Administrator of the EPA, Director of the OMB, Director of the National Drug Control Policy, and the U.S. Trade Representative) are in the cabinet. The remaining three are:
Former Cabinet positions
★ The Secretary of State was briefly known as the
Secretary of Foreign Affairs (from
27 July 1789 to
15 September 1789), but the position was renamed Secretary of State prior to being filled for the first time in March 1790.
★ From 1789 to 1947, the duties of the Secretary of Defense were instead handled by Cabinet-level positions of the
Secretary of War (1789–1947) and the
Secretary of the Navy (1798–1947).
★ From 1829 to 1971, the
Post Office Department was a Cabinet-level executive agency and thus the
Postmaster General was a Cabinet officer.
★ From 1903 to 1913, the duties of the current Secretaries of Commerce and Labor were held by a single
Secretary of Commerce and Labor.
★ From 1953 to 1979, the duties of the Secretary of Education and the Secretary of Health and Human Services were united as the
Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.
★ Under some administrations, the
U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations was allowed to sit in for cabinet meetings.
Proposed Cabinet departments
★ U.S. Department of Commerce and Industry (proposed by business interests in the 1880s)
★ U.S. Department of Agriculture and Labor (proposed by members of U.S. Congress)
★ U.S. Department of Public Welfare (proposed by President Warren Harding)
★ U.S. Department of Peace (proposed by President Franklin Roosevelt and Congressman Dennis Kucinich)
★ U.S. Department of Social Welfare (proposed by President Franklin Roosevelt)
★ U.S. Department of Public Works (proposed by President Franklin Roosevelt)
★ U.S. Department of Conservation (proposed by Interior Secretary Harold Ickes)
★ U.S. Department of Urban Affairs (proposed by President John Kennedy)
★ U.S. Department of Business and Labor (proposed by President Lyndon Johnson)
★ U.S. Department of Human Resources (proposed by President Richard Nixon)
★ U.S. Department of Natural Resources (proposed by former President Herbert Hoover, the Eisenhower administration, President Richard Nixon and the GOP national platform in 1976)
★ U.S. Department of Community Development (proposed by President Richard Nixon)
★ U.S. Department of Economic Development (proposed by President Richard Nixon)
★ U.S. Department of Environmental Protection (proposed by Republican Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter)
★ U.S. Department of International Trade (proposed by the Heritage Foundation)
See also
★
Kitchen Cabinet
★
Black Cabinet
★
List of US Cabinet Secretaries who have held multiple cabinet positions
★
List of first women to hold U.S. Cabinet Secretaryships
★
George W. Bush administration
References
1. Office of Management and Budget
Articles
★ 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).
Books
★ Grossman, Mark. ''Encyclopedia of the United States Cabinet'' (three volumes). Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 2000. ISBN 0-87436-977-0. A history of the United States and Confederate States cabinets, their secretaries, and their departments.
External links
★
Official site of the President's Cabinet
★
U.S. Senate's list of cabinet members who did not attend the State of the Union Address (since 1984)
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