Presidential Cabinet

The 15 individuals who Advise the President

Secretary of State Secretary of the Treasury

Secretary of Defense Attorney General

Secretary of the Interior Secretary of Agriculture Secretary of Commerce

Secretary of Labor Secretary of Health and Human Services

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Secretary of Transportation

Secretary of Energy Secretary of Education

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Secretary of Homeland Security

Who is this?

Secretary of DefenseRobert Gates

And This?

Secretary of EducationArne Duncan

President Obama’s Cabinet

From the Beginning….

•Soon after President Washington’s election, Congress created a:•Department of State•Department of War•Department of the Treasury•Attorney General’s Office

•Washington met regularly with his department heads and sought their advice.

•The newspapers called this group Washington’s cabinet. This name stuck and is still used today.

Common Criteria

•The president selects cabinet department heads.

•Secretaries must have:-Credible expertise in department they manage-Acceptable to all groups with political power-Provide geographic balance-Racial and gender representation-Party loyalty

Cabinet Member Prior Experience

•Department heads must have a compatible background. For example, the Secretary of Interior should be from a western state who has experience in land policy and conservation issues.

•The Secretary of Human and Urban Development should have an urban background.

•The secretary of Agriculture should be from a farm state.

Ability to Work with Outside Organizations

•Department heads must satisfy powerful interest groups. For example:

-Secretary of Labor must be someone acceptable to the unions-Secretary of Commerce must have a good relationship with business and industry

•Department heads must have high-level administrative skills and experience:

-Responsible for thousands of people-Spend billions of dollars each year

Major Factors in Making Appointments

•Woman and African Americans have been regularly included in the cabinet since 1975.

•During the Clinton Administration, the cabinet was the most gender and racially balanced team in history.

Francis Perkins served as the Secretary of Labor under Franklin Roosevelt. She was appointed in 1933.

Background of Cabinet Members

•College graduates

•Many have advanced degrees

•Leaders in the field of business, industry, law, science, and education

•Pay: $151,800 per year

Nominations and Confirmation

•Candidates are nominated by the president-elect before he takes office.

•Before making final decision of appointment, the president-elect team may leak, or deliberately disclose candidates names to the news and media to assess the reaction.

•The Senate holds confirmation hearings for cabinet nominees. Nominees answer questions before a Senate committee to answer questions about their background and views.

Nominations and Confirmation

•Most confirmation hearings are routine.

•The senate has only rejected a handful of nominees out of the over 500 nominees since the time of Washington.

Role of the Cabinet

•As individuals, cabinet members are responsible for the executive departments they head.

•As a group, the cabinet serves as an advisory committee to the president.

•However, most presidents have been reluctant to give the cabinet a major advisory role.

Role of the Cabinet

•Meetings:-Once a week, but usually less frequent, depending on how the president uses the cabinet-Occur in the cabinet room of the White House-Usually closed to the public and press

The Cabinet in History

•From the beginning, the cabinet’s role in decision making depended on how the president at the time defined it.

•Some presidents used the cabinet more than others.

•Stronger presidents used the cabinet very little as an advisory role.

The Modern Cabinet

•Several recent presidents have attempted to increase the role of the cabinet in decision making.

•However, most have given up and turned elsewhere for advice.

Influence of Cabinet Members

•Cabinet members who deal with national issues work more closely with the president.

•These officials are sometimes called the inner-cabinet. They include:

-Secretary of State-Secretary of Defense-Secretary of the Treasury-Attorney General

Factors Limiting the Cabinet’s Role

•Conflicting Loyalties:- Cabinet members have three other constituencies that require loyalty:

•Career officials in their own departments•Members of Congress•Special interest groups

•Each of these groups has its own stake in the department’s programs. Each may push the secretary in directions that are not always in accord with the president’s plans.

Factors Limiting the Cabinet’s Role

•Secrecy and Trust:-It is hard to maintain secrecy when 15 cabinet members are involved in a discussion of sensitive topics.

•Presidents, like anyone else, would prefer to discuss tough problems with people they know and trust.