The United States Cabinet is made up of senior executive branch appointees who head specific agencies or hold cabinet-level positions. They provide advice and information to the President, and their power has varied throughout history. The “Big Four” are the most prominent members, and to serve on the Cabinet, an official must be nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
Collectively, the senior executive branch appointees are referred to as the United States Cabinet. Most cabinet members head specific agencies within the United States government, although several people hold cabinet-level positions without heading any particular agency. The history of the United States Cabinet, also known as the Presidential Cabinet, dates back to George Washington, who had a cadre of four senior officials in his Cabinet.
Members of the Presidential Cabinet are expected to perform the duties associated with the departments they head, while providing advice and information to the President. The President of the United States may not be aware of everything that is happening at once, as America is a very large country with very many foreign ties, but he needs to be kept informed of major emerging issues, and Cabinet members are part of the team that keeps the President up to date. They also provide policy advice and insights when requested by the President.
Cabinet power has waxed and waned historically. During some periods, Cabinet members were immensely powerful and sometimes even became the powers behind the Presidency. In other cases, the presidential cabinet has been important and influential, but not omnipotent. Each president works with the cabinet slightly differently, and differences in style can result in radically different levels of influence.
Four members of the US Cabinet are particularly prominent, and sometimes referred to as the “Big Four”. These members are the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense and the Attorney General of the United States. In addition to the Big Four, the Presidential Cabinet also includes the Postmaster General, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Secretary of Transportation, Secretary of Energy, Secretary of Education and Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Cabinet-level positions include: U.S. Vice President, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Director of National Drug Control Policy, and States Trade Representative United.
To serve on the United States Cabinet, an official must be nominated by a sitting president and confirmed through a series of Senate hearings before being hired. It is rare to see the President and the entire Cabinet together, both because it is difficult to get things done with such a large group, and because many of the Presidential Cabinet members are in the presidential line of succession, and therefore must be kept apart to national security reasons.
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