|
Sponsored Links
This article is part of the series
Politics and government of
the United States The United States Cabinet (usually simplified as "the Cabinet") is composed of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States, and its existence dates back to the first American President (George Washington), who appointed a Cabinet of four people (Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson; Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton; Secretary of War, Henry Knox; and Attorney General, Edmund Randolph) to advise and assist him in his duties. Cabinet officers are nominated by the President and then presented to the United States Senate for confirmation or rejection by a simple majority. If approved, they are sworn in and begin their duties. Aside from the Attorney General, and previously, the Postmaster General, they all receive the title Secretary. Later, upon addition of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, a provision was created allowing that the Vice President and "a majority of the principal officers" of the executive branch departments may transmit a notice (to the Speaker of the House and the Senate President Pro tempore) that the President is unfit for office. If the President contests this finding, the Congress is directed to settle the matter. United States Cabinet nominees are chosen from a large pool of potential candidates. One of the few qualification restrictions is set out in Article One of the Constitution "no person holding any office under the United States, shall be a member of either house during his continuance in office." Accordingly, a sitting member of the United States Congress must resign his or her seat before accepting a Cabinet appointment. Likewise, a governor appointed to a cabinet post must resign as governor.[citation needed] This constitutional separation between the executive and the legislative branches is distinct from the British parliamentary cabinet system, where, in most cases, members of the Cabinet are required to be sitting members of the legislature.
|
United States Cabinet Subcategories
United States Cabinet Articles
|
|
