United States Cabinet

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Barack Obama's cabinet (2012)

The United States cabinet is part of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and is composed of the president , the vice president , the 14 federal ministers, the attorney general and attorney general ( United States attorney general ), and several other senior federal officials.

Although it has become one of the most influential organs of the federal government, the term “cabinet” itself is not included in the constitution . The expression does not correspond to the usual German expression of the cabinet for the entire government , it is a round of the president with the most important ministers and leaders. It meets in the Cabinet Room of the White House .

Constitutional and legal basis

The second article of the constitution contains a clause that the President "may in writing seek the opinion of the main members of the federal government on any subject that falls within their jurisdiction". In addition, the 25th Amendment to the Constitution provides that the Vice President, along with a majority of the key members of the federal government, can convey a notice to Congress that the President is unable to exercise his office.

The term “cabinet” itself is not included in either the United States Code or the Code of Federal Regulations .

Emergence

The first President of the United States, George Washington , was quick to see the need for a cabinet. One of his first acts was to the Congress the establishment of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs (a little later with extended powers in State Department to get (Department of State) renamed) Finance and war. These ministries should be led by officials with the title of secretary . In contrast to German federal ministers, American secretaries are directly subordinate to the president and can be removed from office by him at any time. The President appoints the secretaries with the approval of the Senate. In order to follow German language habits, American secretaries who run a ministry are generally referred to as ministers.

George Washington's first cabinet consisted of Secretary of State (Secretary of State) Thomas Jefferson , Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton , Secretary of War Henry Knox , and Attorney General Edmund Randolph .

The Vice President was originally not part of the cabinet and did not attend its meetings. On the contrary, he generally did not exert any influence on government policy and tended to withdraw into private life. Only Woodrow Wilson involved his Vice President Thomas R. Marshall more closely in government work in 1919 when he traveled to the negotiations for the Versailles Treaty and asked Marshall to represent him in cabinet meetings. Wilson's successors and their vice-presidents handled this differently. Franklin D. Roosevelt , who became president in 1933, included all of his four-term vice presidents in the cabinet. This has been done by all presidents since then.

meaning

Although the cabinet is still an important organ of the federal government, its importance as a political body has diminished in recent years. Since President Franklin D. Roosevelt, there has been a trend for presidents to act through the Executive Office and the National Security Council rather than through the Cabinet. As a result, the power of some officials outside of the cabinet, such as the White House Chief of Staff , the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, or the National Security Advisor, often equals or exceeds that of cabinet members.

Traditionally, the most important cabinet members have been the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense and the Attorney General. Since the creation of the Ministry of Internal Security , the Minister of Internal Security has quickly risen in importance.

Succession to the President

The cabinet is also important when it comes to succeeding the president . This determines who provisionally takes over the office of president if neither the president nor the vice-president can exercise the office as a result of death, resignation or incapacity. The order initially provides for the Speaker of the House of Representatives , in the event of whose absence the President pro tempore of the Senate . If this is also not available, it is the members of the cabinet in a predefined order who form the next successor, starting with the foreign minister. The last proposed successor is the Minister for Internal Security.

It is common for all of the president's successors to never be in one place. Therefore, at ceremonial events such as the State of the Union Address , where the first members of the successor order are expected to be present, a cabinet member usually stays away. This person, known as the “designated survivor”, is in a safe, secret place in such cases to take over the office of president should any other intended successor be killed. This task is usually taken on by one of the ministers below in the list - as far as known, the highest ranking since the early 1980s was the Attorney General .

literature

  • John J. Patrick, Richard M. Pious, Donald A. Ritchie: The Oxford Guide to the United States Government. Oxford University Press, New York 2001, ISBN 978-0-19-514273-0 , pp. 77f.

Web links

Commons : United States Cabinet  - Collection of Images