United States Cabinet

The Cabinet is that part of the Executive branch of the United States
Government consisting of the heads of the Federal Executive Departments. The
term Cabinet is nowhere found in the United States Constitution, where
reference is made only to the heads of departments.

Article II 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 Twenty-fifth Amendment to the Constitution provides that the
Vice President and a majority of the principal officers of the departments
can transmit a notice that the President is unfit for office.

The Cabinet is also important in the Presidential line of succession, with
the Cabinet officers in the line of succession after the 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.

Unlike the Cabinets in parliamentary systems, where the Prime Minister is
frequently first among equals, the officials in the United States Cabinet
are strongly subordinate to the President. In addition, the United States
Cabinet does not play a collective legislative role as do the Cabinets in
parliamentary systems. Every member of the Cabinet is appointed by the
President, subject to confirmation by the Senate, and serves at the pleasure
of the President.

In recent years, the Cabinet has become less and less important 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 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 or larger than Cabinet officials.

The members of the cabinet are appointed by the President and are approved
by Congress.

It includes:

  1. Secretary of State
  2. Secretary of the Treasury
  3. Secretary of Defense
  4. Attorney General (head of the Department of Justice)
  5. Secretary of Homeland Security
  6. Secretary of the Interior
  7. Secretary of Agriculture
  8. Secretary of Commerce
  9. Secretary of Labor
 10. Secretary of Health and Human Services
 11. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
 12. Secretary of Transportation
 13. Secretary of Energy
 14. Secretary of Education
 15. Secretary of Veterans' Affairs

Former Cabinet positions:

   * From 1789 to 1947 the duties of the Secretary of Defense were divided
     between the Cabinet-level positions of the Secretary of War and the
     Secretary of the Navy.
   * Prior to 1913, the duties of the Secretaries of Commerce and Labor were
     held by a single Secretary of Commerce and Labor.
   * Between the years 1872 and 1971, the Post Office Department headed by
     the Postmaster General was a Cabinet-level executive agency.
   * Prior to 1980, the duties of the Secretaries of Health and Human
     Services and Education were united in the Secretary of Health,
     Education, and Welfare.

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