United States federal executive departments facts for kids
The United States federal executive departments are like the main teams that help the President run the country. They are part of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States. Think of them as different government offices, each with a special job, like managing money or looking after national parks. There are currently 15 of these important departments.
Contents
How the Departments Work
Who Leads Each Department?
Each department has a leader called a secretary. The only exception is the Department of Justice, which is led by the Attorney General. The President chooses these leaders. They start their jobs after the Senate agrees to the President's choice. They serve as long as the President wants them to.
These department leaders are also members of the President's Cabinet. The Cabinet is a group that gives advice to the President. The U.S. Constitution calls these leaders "principal Officer in each of the executive Departments."
If something happens to the President, these department leaders are also in a special order to take over. This is called the line of succession. They come after the Vice President, the Speaker of the House, and the President pro tempore of the Senate. Their place in line depends on when their department was first created.
Keeping Powers Separate
The U.S. Constitution makes sure that the different parts of the government have separate jobs. This is called separation of powers. Because of this, people who work in the executive branch (like department heads) cannot also be members of Congress at the same time.
This is different from some other countries where government leaders can also be lawmakers. In the U.S., if a member of Congress is chosen to lead a department, they must quit Congress first.
How Departments Use Their Money
You might notice that some departments, like Education or Health and Human Services, have fewer employees but very large budgets. This is because many of their employees don't provide services directly. Instead, they manage contracts with private companies or give out grants (money) to state or local government groups. These state and local groups then provide the services to the public.
For example, when the federal government started helping with things like education or health, they often offered money to states. States could choose to accept the money and follow the rules that came with it, or they could say no. For the Medicare program, the government chose to work with private health insurance companies. This was because these companies already knew how to handle big health insurance programs.
Current Departments Today
| Department | Seal | Flag | Formed | Employees | Total budget | Head | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Titleholder | |||||||
| State |  |
 |
July 27, 1789 | 30,000 (2023) |
$58.1 billion (2023) |
Secretary of State | Marco Rubio | |
| Treasury |  |
 |
September 2, 1789 | 100,000 (2023) |
$16.4 billion (2023) |
Secretary of the Treasury | Scott Bessent | |
| Interior |  |
 |
March 3, 1849 | 70,000 (2023) |
$35 billion (2023) |
Secretary of the Interior | Doug Burgum | |
| Agriculture |  |
 |
May 15, 1862 | 100,000 (2023) |
$242 billion (2023) |
Secretary of Agriculture | Brooke Rollins | |
| Justice |  |
 |
July 1, 1870 | 113,543 (2012) |
$37.5 billion (2023) |
Attorney General | Pam Bondi | |
| Commerce |  |
 |
February 14, 1903 | 41,000 (2023) |
$16.3 billion (2023) |
Secretary of Commerce | Howard Lutnick | |
| Labor |  |
 |
March 4, 1913 | 15,000 (2023) |
$97.5 billion (2023) |
Secretary of Labor | Lori Chavez-DeRemer | |
| Defense |  |
September 18, 1947 | 3,200,000 (2023) |
$852 billion (2023) |
Secretary of Defense | Pete Hegseth | ||
| Health and Human Services |  |
April 11, 1953 | 65,000 (2023) |
$1.772 trillion (2023) |
Secretary of Health and Human Services | Robert F. Kennedy Jr. | ||
| Housing and Urban Development |  |
 |
September 9, 1965 | 9,000 (2023) |
$61.7 billion (2023) |
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development | Scott Turner | |
| Transportation |  |
 |
April 1, 1967 | 55,000 (2023) |
$145 billion (2023) |
Secretary of Transportation | Sean Duffy | |
| Energy |  |
 |
August 4, 1977 | 10,000 (2023) |
$45.8 billion (2023) |
Secretary of Energy | Chris Wright | |
| Education |  |
 |
October 17, 1979 | 4,200 (2023) |
$79.6 billion (2023) |
Secretary of Education | Linda McMahon | |
| Veterans Affairs |  |
 |
March 15, 1989 | 235,000 (2023) |
$308.5 billion (2023) |
Secretary of Veterans Affairs | Doug Collins | |
| Homeland Security |  |
 |
November 25, 2002 | 250,000 (2023) |
$101.6 billion (2023) |
Secretary of Homeland Security | Kristi Noem | |
Past Departments
Over time, some departments have changed or been replaced. Here are some of the departments that used to be part of the President's Cabinet:
| Department | Formed | Removed from Cabinet | Superseded by | Last Cabinet-level head | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Titleholder | |||||
| War | August 7, 1789 | September 18, 1947 | Department of the Army Department of the Air Force |
Secretary of War | Kenneth Claiborne Royall | |
| Navy | April 30, 1798 | August 10, 1949 | Department of Defense (as executive department) became and still are military departments within the Department of Defense |
Secretary of the Navy | Francis P. Matthews | |
| Army | September 18, 1947 | Secretary of the Army | Gordon Gray | |||
| Air Force | Secretary of the Air Force | Stuart Symington | ||||
| Post Office | February 20, 1792 | July 1, 1971 | United States Postal Service | Postmaster General | Winton M. Blount | |
| Commerce and Labor | February 14, 1903 | March 4, 1913 | Department of Commerce Department of Labor (The Department of Commerce is considered a continuation of the Department of Commerce and Labor under a new name.) |
Secretary of Commerce and Labor | Charles Nagel | |
| Health, Education, and Welfare | April 11, 1953 | October 17, 1979 | Department of Education Department of Health and Human Services (The Department of Health and Human Services is considered a continuation of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare under a new name.) |
Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare | Patricia Roberts Harris | |
Ideas for New Departments
People sometimes suggest creating new executive departments to handle different needs. Here are a few ideas that have been proposed over the years:
- A Department of Natural Resources, to combine groups that manage land and energy.
- A Department of Peace, to focus on solving conflicts peacefully.
- A Department of Technology, to handle new advancements in science and tech.
- A Department of Culture, like those in many other countries, to support arts and heritage.
- A Department of Government Efficiency, to help the government run more smoothly.
See also
In Spanish: Departamentos Ejecutivos Federales de Estados Unidos para niños
- British government departments
- Canadian Federal government departments
- Cabinet of the United States
- Independent agencies of the United States government
- List of federal agencies in the United States
