Cabinet of the United States

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Cabinet of the United States
FormationNovember 26, 2012
Legal statusInferred (Opinion Clause)
PurposeAdvisory body to the president of the United States
Location
GeorgeGodsent
Membership
9 members (not counting the VP):
  • 7 principal members
  • 2 other members
  • The Cabinet of the United States is a body consisting of the vice president of the United States and the heads of the executive branch's departments in the federal government of the United States. It is the principal official advisory body to the president of the United States. The president chairs the meetings but is not formally a member of the Cabinet. The heads of departments, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, are members of the Cabinet, and acting department heads also participate in Cabinet meetings whether or not they have been officially nominated for Senate confirmation. The president may designate heads of other agencies and non-Senate-confirmed members of the Executive Office of the President as members of the Cabinet.

    History

    The cabinet was created with the ratification of the United States Constitution. 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". The Constitution does not specify what the executive departments will be, how many there will be, or what their duties will be.

    Current Cabinet and Cabinet-rank officials

    The individuals listed below were nominated by President GeorgeGodsent to form his Cabinet. They 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.

    Vice president and the heads of the executive departments

    The Cabinet permanently includes the vice president and the heads of 7 executive departments, listed here according to their order of succession to the presidency. 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.

    Office Incumbent Took office
    Vice President Robbiebeastpro90000 3/21/2024
    Secretary of State WuIfhram 4/3/2024
    Secretary of the Treasury Chief_Vinexy 4/3/2024
    Secretary of Defense jjc0308 4/3/2024
    Attorney General EdwardAMontana 4/3/2024
    Secretary of Commerce and Labor saladroo 4/3/2024
    Secretary of Transportation Unknown Unknown
    Secretary of Homeland Security black_racks Unknown

    Cabinet-level officials

    The president may designate additional positions to be members of the Cabinet, which can vary under each president. They are not in the line of succession and are not necessarily officers of the United States.

    Office Incumbent Took office
    White House Chief of Staff Frosty_TheSn0wman Unknown
    Director of National Intelligence TheRabbiCartman 4/3/2024

    Former executive and Cabinet-level departments

    Shutdown

    • Department of Housing and Urban Development, headed by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: shut down by the Removal of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act of 2018[1]
    • Department of the Interior, headed by the Secretary of the Interior: shut down by the Department of Interior Shutdown Act of 2015[2]
    • Department of Health and Human Services, headed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services: shut down by the Act to Shutdown the Department of Health and Human Services of 2016[3]
    • Department of Technology and Innovation, headed by the Director of Technology and Innovation: unknown when the DoTI shut down
    • Department of Education, headed by the Secretary of Education: shut down by the Education Abolishment Act of 2018[4]
    • Strategic Command Department, headed by the Secretary of the Strategic Command: not official abolished but no secretary has been appointed since 2020
    • Department of Veterans Affairs, headed by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs: not officially abolished but furloughed in 2021

    Merged or renamed

    • Department of Commerce, headed by the Secretary of Commerce: Merged with the Department of Labor to create the Department of Commerce and Labor[5]
    • Department of Labor, headed by the Secretary of Labor: Merged with the Department of Commerce to create the Department of Commerce and Labor[6]

    References