Cabinet of the United States facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

The Cabinet of the United States is a special group of people who help and advise the president of the United States. They usually meet with the president in a room next to the Oval Office in the White House. The president leads these meetings.

The vice president is always a member of the Cabinet. The other members are the heads of important government departments. The president chooses these people, and the Senate must approve them. These Cabinet members are like top managers for their departments. They help the president run the country.

The Cabinet doesn't have its own power to make decisions. They don't vote on things. There are 25 members in total. This includes the vice president, 15 department heads, and 10 other important officials. Most of them need Senate approval. During meetings, Cabinet members sit in order of when their department was created. The oldest departments are closest to the president. The vice president does not control the Cabinet. All Cabinet officials report directly to the president.

The president can remove Cabinet members from their jobs at any time. They don't need the Senate's approval for this. The vice president is different because they are elected, not chosen by the president. Cabinet members can be removed from office if they commit serious crimes. This process is called impeachment.

The Constitution of the United States doesn't directly create the Cabinet. Its role comes from a part of the Constitution that says the president can ask for advice from the heads of departments. The Twenty-fifth Amendment also allows the vice president and most department heads to say if the president can't do their job. Cabinet members are also in line to become president if something happens to the president and vice president. The Secretary of State is the highest-ranking Cabinet member in this line of succession.

History of the Cabinet
How Cabinet Members Are Chosen
- Cabinet Salaries
Current Cabinet Members
- Vice President and Department Heads
- Other Cabinet-Level Officials
Former Cabinet Departments
Departments with Renamed Heads
Positions Sometimes Included in the Cabinet
Proposed New Cabinet Departments
See also

History of the Cabinet

James K. Polk and his Cabinet in 1846. This was the first Cabinet to be photographed.

The idea of the Cabinet came from discussions when the U.S. Constitution was being written in 1787. They debated if the president should make all decisions alone or with a group of advisors. The Constitution decided that the president has the main power. But it also said the president could ask for written advice from the main officers of each department. The Constitution didn't say what these departments would be or how many there would be.

George Washington, the first president, was the one who started the tradition of having a Cabinet. It has been part of the government ever since. Washington's first Cabinet had five members. These were himself, Thomas Jefferson (Secretary of State), Alexander Hamilton (Secretary of the Treasury), Henry Knox (Secretary of War), and Edmund Randolph (Attorney General).

The Vice President, John Adams, was not part of Washington's first Cabinet. At that time, the vice president was seen more as a leader in the Senate. It wasn't until the 1900s that vice presidents regularly became members of the Cabinet. They then became a key part of the executive branch.

Presidents have used Cabinet meetings in different ways. Some presidents relied on them a lot, while others less so. In more recent times, the Cabinet has grown to include other important White House staff members. President Ronald Reagan created smaller groups within his Cabinet to discuss different policy issues. Later presidents have continued this practice.

How Cabinet Members Are Chosen

This chart shows how the Cabinet of the United States has changed over the years.

The president chooses the heads of the executive departments and other federal agencies. These choices then go to the Senate for approval. The Senate needs a simple majority vote to confirm them. If approved, they get their official papers and take an oath. Then they can start their jobs. If the Senate is not meeting, the president can appoint temporary heads for departments.

An elected vice president does not need Senate approval. The White House Chief of Staff also does not need Senate approval. This is because the Chief of Staff is a staff position within the president's office.

Here are some of the main Cabinet positions and which Senate committee reviews them:

Office	Senate confirmation review committee
Secretary of State	Foreign Relations Committee
Secretary of the Treasury	Finance Committee
Secretary of Defense	Armed Services Committee
Attorney General	Judiciary Committee
Secretary of the Interior	Energy and Natural Resources Committee
Secretary of Agriculture	Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee
Secretary of Commerce	Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
Secretary of Labor	Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee
Secretary of Health and Human Services	Finance Committee (official) Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (consult)
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee
Secretary of Transportation	Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
Secretary of Energy	Energy and Natural Resources Committee
Secretary of Education	Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee
Secretary of Veterans Affairs	Veterans Affairs Committee
Secretary of Homeland Security	Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
Trade Representative	Finance Committee
Director of National Intelligence	Select Committee on Intelligence
Director of the Office of Management and Budget	Budget Committee Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy	Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency	Environment and Public Works Committee
Administrator of the Small Business Administration	Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee

Cabinet Salaries

The heads of the executive departments and most other senior federal officers get paid under a special plan. This plan is called the Executive Schedule. As of January 2025, the annual pay for these top positions was $250,600.

The vice president's yearly salary is $235,300. This amount changes automatically with the cost of living. The vice president also gets a pension, like other members of Congress.

Current Cabinet Members

The people listed below were chosen by President Donald Trump to be part of his Cabinet. They were approved by the Senate or are serving temporarily.

Vice President and Department Heads

The Cabinet always includes the vice president and the heads of 15 executive departments. They are listed here in the order they would become president if needed. The Speaker of the House and the President pro tempore of the Senate are also in this line of succession, but they are part of the legislative branch, not the Cabinet.

Cabinet
Office (How it was created)	Person in Office	Started Office
Vice President (Constitution, Article II, Section I)	JD Vance	January 20, 2025
Secretary of State (22 U.S.C. § 2651a)	Marco Rubio	January 21, 2025
Secretary of the Treasury (31 U.S.C. § 301)	Scott Bessent	January 28, 2025
Secretary of Defense (10 U.S.C. § 113)	Pete Hegseth	January 25, 2025
Attorney General (28 U.S.C. § 503)	Pam Bondi	February 5, 2025
Secretary of the Interior (43 U.S.C. § 1451)	Doug Burgum	February 1, 2025
Secretary of Agriculture (7 U.S.C. § 2202)	Brooke Rollins	February 13, 2025
Secretary of Commerce (15 U.S.C. § 1501)	Howard Lutnick	February 21, 2025
Secretary of Labor (29 U.S.C. § 551)	Lori Chavez-DeRemer	March 11, 2025
Secretary of Health and Human Services (Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1953, 67 Stat. 631 and 42 U.S.C. § 3501)	Robert F. Kennedy Jr.	February 13, 2025
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (42 U.S.C. § 3532)	Scott Turner	February 5, 2025
Secretary of Transportation (49 U.S.C. § 102)	Sean Duffy	January 28, 2025
Secretary of Energy (42 U.S.C. § 7131)	Chris Wright	February 4, 2025
Secretary of Education (20 U.S.C. § 3411)	Linda McMahon	March 3, 2025
Secretary of Veterans Affairs (38 U.S.C. § 303)	Doug Collins	February 5, 2025
Secretary of Homeland Security (6 U.S.C. § 112)	Kristi Noem	January 25, 2025

Other Cabinet-Level Officials

The president can also choose other important people to be part of the Cabinet. These roles can change with each president. These officials are not in the line of succession to the presidency.

Cabinet-level officials
Office	Person in Office	Started Office
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (5 U.S.C. § 906, Executive Order 11735)	Lee Zeldin	January 29, 2025
Director of the Office of Management and Budget (31 U.S.C. § 502, Executive Order 11541, Executive Order 11609, Executive Order 11717)	Russell Vought	February 7, 2025
Director of National Intelligence (50 U.S.C. § 3023)	Tulsi Gabbard	February 12, 2025
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (50 U.S.C. § 3036)	John Ratcliffe	January 23, 2025
Trade Representative (19 U.S.C. § 2171)	Jamieson Greer	February 27, 2025
Ambassador to the United Nations (22 U.S.C. § 287)	Dorothy Shea Acting	January 20, 2025
Administrator of the Small Business Administration (15 U.S.C. § 633)	Kelly Loeffler	February 20, 2025
White House Chief of Staff (Pub.L. 76-19, 53 Stat. 561, enacted April 3, 1939, Executive Order 8248, Executive Order 10452, Executive Order 12608)	Susie Wiles	January 20, 2025

Former Cabinet Departments

Over time, some government departments have changed names or been reorganized. Here are some examples:

Department of War (1789–1947): This department was renamed the Department of the Army.
Department of the Navy (1798–1949): This became part of the Department of Defense.
Post Office Department (1829–1971): This was changed into the United States Postal Service, which is now an independent agency.

Departments with Renamed Heads

Some Cabinet positions have changed names over the years:

Secretary of Foreign Affairs: This job was created in 1781 and renamed Secretary of State in 1789.
Secretary of Commerce and Labor: This role was created in 1903. In 1913, it was split into the Secretary of Commerce and the new Secretary of Labor.
Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare: Created in 1953, this was renamed Secretary of Health and Human Services in 1979. Its education duties moved to the new Secretary of Education.

Positions Sometimes Included in the Cabinet

Some government roles are not always part of the Cabinet, but presidents can choose to include them.

Vice President (since 1929)
Ambassador to the United Nations (often included, but not always)
Director of the Office of Management and Budget (often included)
White House Chief of Staff (often included)
United States Trade Representative (often included)
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (often included)
Director of National Intelligence (often included)
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (often included)
Administrator of the Small Business Administration (often included)

Proposed New Cabinet Departments

Throughout history, people have suggested creating new Cabinet departments to handle different issues. Here are a few ideas:

Department of Natural Resources: Proposed to manage the country's natural resources.
Department of Peace: Suggested to focus on promoting peace.
Department of Urban Affairs and Housing: Proposed to deal with city issues and housing.
Department of Economic Affairs: Suggested to combine departments like Commerce, Labor, and Agriculture.
Department of Environmental Protection: Proposed to focus on protecting the environment.
Department of Technology: Proposed to handle technology-related issues.
Department of Culture: Proposed to focus on arts and culture, similar to departments in other countries.