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3. The Cabinet. Unit 6: The Executive Branch. The Cabinet. The collective name for the president’s advisors. Choosing a cabinet is one of the president’s first responsibilities in office.
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3. The Cabinet Unit 6: The Executive Branch
The Cabinet • The collective name for the president’s advisors. • Choosing a cabinet is one of the president’s first responsibilities in office. • Most members of the cabinet hold the title “Secretary” and operate portions of the federal bureaucracy.
The Cabinet • The importance of the cabinet is decided by the president. Some presidents seek out their advice while others pay their advisors little attention. • “I have gathered you together to hear what I have written down. I do not wish your advice…[t]hat I have determined for myself.”
The Cabinet • How the Role of the Cabinet is Limited: • Conflicting loyalties: profession, Congress, interest groups. • Secrecy and Trust: possibility of appointing strangers.
Commerce Agriculture Inner Cabinet Interior Labor State Defense Energy President Health & Human Services Homeland Security Attorney General Treasury Veterans Affairs Education Housing & Urban Development Transportation Outer Cabinet
Succession • The cabinet members are all listed in the presidential order of succession (25th Amendment). • Their order is based upon when a particular department was created.
Succession • President • Vice President • Speaker of the House • President pro tem • State (1789) • Treasury • Defense • Attorney General • Interior • Agriculture • Commerce • Labor • Health & Human Services • HUD • Transportation • Energy • Education • Veterans Affairs • Homeland Security (2002)
Departments • State: responsible for implementing foreign policy and operating diplomatic missions • Treasury: responsible for all currency, collecting taxes, and managing federal finances • Defense: coordinates and supervises all agencies and functions of the government concerning national security and military • Justice: responsible for enforcing laws and administering justice
Departments • Interior: responsible for managing and conserving federal lands and natural resources, and managing programs related to domestic sovereign nations • Agriculture: develops and carries out policies concerning agriculture, forestry, and food • Commerce: tasked with creating an infrastructure that promotes economic growth • Labor: responsible for occupational safety, standards, and services
Departments • Health & Human Services: tasked with protecting the health of Americans and providing essential human services (CDC, Medicare/Medicaid) • Housing & Urban Development: develop and carry out policies relating to housing and “strong, sustainable communities” • Transportation: tasked with creating safe and efficient transportation systems to serve the US
Departments • Energy: create and carry out policies regarding nuclear material (including weaponry), and domestic energy production • Education: create and carry out policy and assistance for education, and collect data on US schools without establishing schools themselves • Veterans Affairs: responsible for administering benefit programs to veterans, their families, and survivors. • Homeland Security: responsible for protecting the US domestically and responding to attacks and natural disasters.