“[The President] may 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.” Article 2, Section 2
Without saying so directly, the U.S.
Constitution created the Cabinet with those words. Note, however, that the Constitution does not go into what the executive departments will be, how many there will be, or what their duties should be. This area of contention has been interpreted differently by the
presidents of the
United States throughout its history.
The cabinet concept was pioneered in
England with the
Privy Council. In
Britain, the Council evolved into today's Cabinet, a legal institution that advises the
Prime Minister. In the U.S., the cabinet has no legal definition. One important difference in between the British and American cabinet is that Britain’s consists of members of
parliament while it is illegal for a U.S.
congressperson to hold a position in the
executive branch, including the cabinet.
The Cabinet consists primarily of the principal officer in each of the executive departments as the U.S. Constitution suggests. These officials are called
secretary in the United States. In other countries, these officials are typically called
Ministers. These Secretaries are appointed by the
President and confirmed by the
Senate. Cabinet members may be
impeached just like any other federal officer.
George Washington formed the very first cabinet in the United States in 1789. At that time, the cabinet only consisted of four department heads: the
Secretary of State, the
Treasury Secretary, the
Secretary of War, and the
Attorney General. The first cabinet consisted of some familiar names:
Secretary of State:
Thomas Jefferson
Treasury Secretary:
Alexander Hamilton
Secretary of War:
Henry Knox
Attorney General:
Edmund Randolph
Since Washington’s day, many other departments have been added as the responsibilities of the executive branch of the federal government have expanded. In 1798,
John Adams added the
Department of the Navy in response to
the XYZ Affair.
Andrew Jackson added the
Postmaster General in 1829.
Zachary Taylor then added the
Department of the Interior in 1849. The
Department of Agriculture came next in 1889, added by
Grover Cleveland.
Theodore Roosevelt added a cabinet position that would oversee Commerce and Labor in 1903. This position was later separated into the separate departments of
Commerce and
Labor by
Woodrow Wilson in 1913. Under
Truman in 1947, the Navy and War Departments were combined into a new
National Military Establishment (later called the
Department of Defense).
Eisenhower added the tenth cabinet position in 1953 with the addition of the
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.
Johnson added the
Department of Housing and Urban Development(1965) and the
Department of Transportation(1966).
Richard M. Nixon removed the Postmaster General from the cabinet in 1971. Carter augmented the cabinet by two with the addition of the
Department of Energy in 1977 and by splitting the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare into the
Department of Health and Human Services and a new
Department of Education in 1979. The last official department added to the cabinet was the
Department of Veterans Affairs added by
George Bush Sr. in 1989. What had once been four departments is now fourteen.
In the cabinet also consists of the
Vice President and any other person in the executive department that the President wishes, such as the
Ambassador to the
U.N. or a
National Security Advisor. President
George W. Bush created the
Office of Homeland Security in 2001, adding its head to his Cabinet.
Typically, the cabinet meets on a regular basis but because the cabinet is not a constitutionally outlined institution, meetings can be at any interval. In fact, the cabinet may not necessarily ever meet at all. A President may even choose to not even have a cabinet. Some have questioned the need for a cabinet. The group does not always work effectively as a group and discussions between departments can break down into
turf wars and petty rivalries. Some modern presidents have made little use of their cabinets. Former
National Security Advisor under
Jimmy Carter,
Zbigniew Brzezinski, told of using the time to catch up on newspapers and magazines.
The Bush Cabinet (as of 09/21/2001):
Secretary of Agriculture (Ann Veneman)
Secretary of Commerce (Don Evans)
Secretary of Defense (Donald Rumsfeld)
Secretary of Education (Rod Paige)
Secretary of Energy (Spencer Abraham)
Secretary of Health and Human Services (Tommy Thompson)
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (Mel Martinez)
Secretary of Interior (Gale Norton)
Attorney General (John Ashcroft)
Secretary of Labor (Elaine Chao)
Secretary of State (Colin Powell)
Secretary of Transportation (Norman Mineta)
Secretary of Treasury (Paul O'Neill)
Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Anthony Principi)
Chief of Staff (Andrew Card)
Environmental Protection Agency (Christine Todd Whitman)
Office of Management and Budget (Mitchell Daniels)
Office of National Drug Control Policy (John Walters)
United States Trade Representative (Robert Zoellick)
Office of Homeland Security (Tom Ridge)