2022 CabinetTop executives in Biden administration

Most of the top executives in the Biden administration are in his Cabinet. Other executives report to the Secretary of their cabinet’s agency. For example, the Surgeon General reports to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The Cabinet’s role is to advise the President on any subject he or she may require relating to the duties of each member’s respective office.

The cabinet members are displayed in this slider in order of succession to the Presidency. Additional important executives are listed afterwards.

 

OnAir Post: Top executives in Biden administration

Summary

Most of the top executives in the Biden administration are in his Cabinet. Other executives report to the Secretary of their cabinet’s agency. For example, the Surgeon General reports to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The Cabinet’s role is to advise the President on any subject he or she may require relating to the duties of each member’s respective office.

The cabinet members are displayed in this slider in order of succession to the Presidency. Additional important executives are listed afterwards.

 

OnAir Post: Top executives in Biden administration

About

Source: Wikipedia

The Cabinet of the United States is a body consisting of the vice president of the United States and the heads of the executive branch’s departments in the federal government of the United States, which is regarded as the principal advisory body to the president of the United States. The president is not formally a member of the Cabinet.

The heads of departments, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, are members of the Cabinet, and acting department heads also sit at the Cabinet meetings whether or not they have been officially nominated for Senate confirmation. The president may designate heads of other agencies and non-Senate-confirmed members of the Executive Office of the President as members of the Cabinet.

Web Links

Wikipedia

The Cabinet of the United States is the principal official advisory body to the president of the United States. The Cabinet meets with the president in a room adjacent to the Oval Office. The president chairs the meetings but is not formally a member of the Cabinet. The heads of departments, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, are members of the Cabinet, and acting department heads also participate in Cabinet meetings whether or not they have been officially nominated for Senate confirmation. The president may designate heads of other agencies and non-Senate-confirmed members of the Executive Office of the President as members of the Cabinet.

The Cabinet does not have any collective executive powers or functions of its own, and no votes need to be taken. There are 26 members: the vice president, 15 department heads, and 10 Cabinet-level officials, all except two of whom require Senate confirmation. During Cabinet meetings, the members sit in the order in which their respective department was created, with the earliest being closest to the president and the newest farthest away.[1]

The members of the Cabinet serve at the pleasure of the president, who can dismiss them at any time without the approval of the Senate, as affirmed by the Supreme Court of the United States in Myers v. United States (1926) or downgrade their Cabinet membership status. Often it is legally possible for a Cabinet member to exercise certain powers over his or her own department against the president’s wishes, but in practice this is highly unusual due to the threat of dismissal. The president also has the authority to organize the Cabinet, such as instituting committees. Like all federal public officials, Cabinet members are also subject to impeachment by the House of Representatives and trial in the Senate for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors”.

The Constitution of the United States does not explicitly establish a Cabinet. The Cabinet’s role, inferred from the language of the Opinion Clause (Article II, Section 2, Clause 1) of the Constitution is to provide advice to the president. Additionally, the Twenty-fifth Amendment authorizes the vice president, together with a majority of the heads of the executive departments, to declare the president “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office”. The heads of the executive departments are—if eligible—in the presidential line of succession.

History

James K. Polk and his Cabinet in 1846: the first Cabinet to be photographed.

The tradition of the Cabinet arose out of the debates at the 1787 Constitutional Convention regarding whether the president would exercise executive authority solely or collaboratively with a cabinet of ministers or a privy council. As a result of the debates, the Constitution (Article II, Section 1, Clause 1) vests “all executive power” in the president singly, and authorizes—but does not compel—the president (Article II, Section 2, Clause 1) to “require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices”.[2][3] The Constitution does not specify what the executive departments will be, how many there will be, or what their duties will be.

George Washington, the first president of the United States, organized his principal officers into a Cabinet, and it has been part of the executive branch structure ever since. Washington’s Cabinet consisted of five members: himself, Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of War Henry Knox and Attorney General Edmund Randolph. Vice President John Adams was not included in Washington’s Cabinet because the position was initially regarded as a legislative officer (president of the Senate).[4] Furthermore, until there was a vacancy in the presidency (which did not occur until the death of William Henry Harrison in 1841) it was not certain that a vice president would be allowed to serve as president for the duration of the original term as opposed to merely acting as president until new elections could be held. It was not until the 20th century that vice presidents were regularly included as members of the Cabinet and came to be regarded primarily as a member of the executive branch.

Presidents have used Cabinet meetings of selected principal officers but to widely differing extents and for different purposes. During President Abraham Lincoln‘s administration, Secretary of State William H. Seward advocated the use of a parliamentary-style Cabinet government. However, Lincoln rebuffed Seward. While a professor Woodrow Wilson also advocated a parliamentary-style Cabinet, but after becoming president did not implement it in his administration. In recent administrations, Cabinets have grown to include key White House staff in addition to department and various agency heads. President Ronald Reagan formed seven sub-cabinet councils to review many policy issues, and subsequent presidents have followed that practice.[3]

Federal law

In 3 U.S.C. § 302 with regard to delegation of authority by the president, it is provided that “nothing herein shall be deemed to require express authorization in any case in which such an official would be presumed in law to have acted by authority or direction of the president.” This pertains directly to the heads of the executive departments as each of their offices is created and specified by statutory law (hence the presumption) and thus gives them the authority to act for the president within their areas of responsibility without any specific delegation.

Under 5 U.S.C. § 3110 (also known as the 1967 Federal Anti-Nepotism statute), federal officials are prohibited from appointing their immediate family members to certain governmental positions, including those in the Cabinet.[5]

Under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, an administration may appoint acting heads of department from employees of the relevant department. These may be existing high-level career employees, from political appointees of the outgoing administration (for new administrations), or sometimes lower-level appointees of the administration.[6]

Confirmation process

Historical makeup of the Cabinet of the United States by year.

The heads of the executive departments and all other federal agency heads are nominated by the president and then presented to the Senate for confirmation or rejection by a simple majority (although before the use of the “nuclear option” during the 113th United States Congress, they could have been blocked by filibuster, requiring cloture to be invoked by 35 supermajority to further consideration). If approved, they receive their commission scroll, are sworn in, and begin their duties. When the Senate is not in session, the president can appoint acting heads of the executive departments, and do so at the beginning of their term.

An elected vice president does not require Senate confirmation, nor does the White House Chief of Staff, which is an appointed staff position of the Executive Office of the President.

OfficeSenate confirmation review committee
Secretary of StateForeign Relations Committee
Secretary of the TreasuryFinance Committee
Secretary of DefenseArmed Services Committee
Attorney GeneralJudiciary Committee
Secretary of the InteriorEnergy and Natural Resources Committee
Secretary of AgricultureAgriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee
Secretary of CommerceCommerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
Secretary of LaborHealth, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee
Secretary of Health and Human ServicesFinance Committee (official)
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (consult)
Secretary of Housing and Urban DevelopmentBanking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee
Secretary of TransportationCommerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
Secretary of EnergyEnergy and Natural Resources Committee
Secretary of EducationHealth, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee
Secretary of Veterans AffairsVeterans Affairs Committee
Secretary of Homeland SecurityHomeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
Trade RepresentativeFinance Committee
Director of National IntelligenceSelect Committee on Intelligence
Director of the Office of Management and BudgetBudget Committee
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
Director of the Office of Science and Technology PolicyCommerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
Administrator of the Environmental Protection AgencyEnvironment and Public Works Committee
Administrator of the Small Business AdministrationSmall Business and Entrepreneurship Committee

Salary

The heads of the executive departments and most other senior federal officers at cabinet or sub-cabinet level receive their salary under a fixed five-level pay plan known as the Executive Schedule, which is codified in Title 5 of the United States Code. Twenty-one positions, including the heads of the executive departments and others, receiving Level I pay are listed in 5 U.S.C. § 5312, and those forty-six positions on Level II pay (including the number two positions of the executive departments) are listed in 5 U.S.C. § 5313. As of January 2023, the Level I annual pay was set at $235,600.

The annual salary of the vice president is $235,300.[7] The salary level was set by the Government Salary Reform Act of 1989, which provides an automatic cost of living adjustment for federal employees. The vice president receives the same pension as other members of Congress as the president of the Senate.[8]

Current Cabinet and Cabinet-rank officials

The individuals listed below were nominated by President Joe Biden to form his Cabinet and were confirmed by the United States Senate on the date noted or are serving as acting department heads by his request, pending the confirmation of his nominees.

Vice president and the heads of the executive departments

The Cabinet permanently includes the vice president and the heads of 15 executive departments, listed here according to their order of succession to the presidency. The speaker of the House and the president pro tempore of the Senate follow the vice president and precede the secretary of state in the order of succession, but both are in the legislative branch and are not part of the Cabinet.

Cabinet
Office
(Constituting instrument)
IncumbentTook office

Vice President
(Constitution, Article II, Section I)

Kamala Harris
January 20, 2021

Secretary of State
(22 U.S.C. § 2651a)

Antony Blinken
January 26, 2021

Secretary of the Treasury
(31 U.S.C. § 301)

Janet Yellen
January 26, 2021

Secretary of Defense
(10 U.S.C. § 113)

Lloyd Austin
January 22, 2021

Attorney General
(28 U.S.C. § 503)

Merrick Garland
March 11, 2021

Secretary of the Interior
(43 U.S.C. § 1451)

Deb Haaland
March 16, 2021

Secretary of Agriculture
(7 U.S.C. § 2202)

Tom Vilsack
February 24, 2021

Secretary of Commerce
(15 U.S.C. § 1501)

Gina Raimondo
March 3, 2021

Secretary of Labor
(29 U.S.C. § 551)

Julie Su
Acting
March 11, 2023

Secretary of Health and Human Services
(Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1953,
67 Stat. 631 and 42 U.S.C. § 3501)

Xavier Becerra
March 19, 2021

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
(42 U.S.C. § 3532)

Adrianne Todman
Acting
March 22, 2024

Secretary of Transportation
(49 U.S.C. § 102)

Pete Buttigieg
February 3, 2021

Secretary of Energy
(42 U.S.C. § 7131)
Secretary Jennifer Granholm
Jennifer Granholm
February 25, 2021

Secretary of Education
(20 U.S.C. § 3411)

Miguel Cardona
March 2, 2021

Secretary of Veterans Affairs
(38 U.S.C. § 303)

Denis McDonough
February 9, 2021

Secretary of Homeland Security
(6 U.S.C. § 112)

Alejandro Mayorkas
February 2, 2021

Cabinet-level officials

The president may designate additional positions to be members of the Cabinet, which can vary under each president. They are not in the line of succession and are not necessarily officers of the United States.[9]

Cabinet-level officials
OfficeIncumbentTerm began

Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
(5 U.S.C. § 906, Executive Order 11735)

Michael S. Regan
March 11, 2021

Director of the Office of Management and Budget
(31 U.S.C. § 502, Executive Order 11541,
Executive Order 11609, Executive Order 11717)

Shalanda Young
March 24, 2021

Director of National Intelligence
(50 U.S.C. § 3023)

Avril Haines
January 21, 2021

Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
(50 U.S.C. § 3036)

William J. Burns
July 21, 2023

Trade Representative
(19 U.S.C. § 2171)

Katherine Tai
March 18, 2021

Ambassador to the United Nations
(22 U.S.C. § 287)

Linda Thomas-Greenfield
February 25, 2021

Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers
(15 U.S.C. § 1023)

Jared Bernstein
July 10, 2023

Administrator of the Small Business Administration
(15 U.S.C. § 633)

Isabel Guzman
March 17, 2021

Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy
(42 U.S.C. § 6612)

Arati Prabhakar
October 3, 2022

White House Chief of Staff
(Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 76–19, 53 Stat. 561, enacted April 3, 1939,
Executive Order 8248, Executive Order 10452,
Executive Order 12608)

Jeff Zients
February 7, 2023

Former executive and Cabinet-level departments

Renamed heads of the executive departments

Positions intermittently elevated to Cabinet-rank

Proposed Cabinet departments

  • Department of Industry and Commerce, proposed by Secretary of the Treasury William Windom in a speech given at a Chamber of Commerce dinner in May 1881.[19]
  • Department of Natural Resources, proposed by the Eisenhower administration,[20] President Richard Nixon,[21] the 1976 GOP national platform,[22] and by Bill Daley (as a consolidation of the Departments of the Interior and Energy, and the Environmental Protection Agency).[23]
  • Department of Peace, proposed by Founding Father Benjamin Rush in 1793, Senator Matthew Neely in the 1930s, Congressman Dennis Kucinich, 2020 and 2024 presidential candidate Marianne Williamson, and other members of the U.S. Congress.[24][25][26]
  • Department of Social Welfare, proposed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in January 1937.[27]
  • Department of Public Works, proposed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in January 1937.[27]
  • Department of Conservation (renamed Department of the Interior), proposed by President Franklin Roosevelt in January 1937.[27]
  • Department of Urban Affairs and Housing, proposed by President John F. Kennedy.[28]
  • Department of Business and Labor, proposed by President Lyndon B. Johnson.[29]
  • Department of Community Development, proposed by President Richard Nixon; to be chiefly concerned with rural infrastructure development.[21][30]
  • Department of Human Resources, proposed by President Richard Nixon; essentially a revised Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.[21]
  • Department of Economic Affairs, proposed by President Richard Nixon; essentially a consolidation of the Departments of Commerce, Labor, and Agriculture.[31]
  • Department of Environmental Protection, proposed by Senator Arlen Specter and others.[32]
  • Department of Intelligence, proposed by former Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell.[33]
  • Department of Global Development, proposed by the Center for Global Development.[34]
  • Department of Art, proposed by Quincy Jones.[35]
  • Department of Business, proposed by President Barack Obama as a consolidation of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s core business and trade functions, the Small Business Administration, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Export-Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency.[36][37]
  • Department of Education and the Workforce, proposed by President Donald Trump as a consolidation of the Departments of Education and Labor.[38]
  • Department of Health and Public Welfare, proposed by President Donald Trump as a renamed Department of Health and Human Services.[39]
  • Department of Economic Development, proposed by Senator Elizabeth Warren to replace the Commerce Department, subsume other agencies like the Small Business Administration and the Patent and Trademark Office, and include research and development programs, worker training programs, and export and trade authorities like the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative with the single goal of creating and protecting American jobs.[40]
  • Department of Technology, proposed by businessman and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang.[41]
  • Department of Culture, patterned on similar departments in many foreign nations, proposed by, among others, Murray Moss[42] and Jeva Lange.[43]
  • When he was SEC Chairman, Harvey Pitt proposed that the Securities and Exchange Commission be elevated to Cabinet level. In July 2002, The New York Times wrote: “Democratic and Republican members of Congress joined administration officials today in ridiculing Harvey L. Pitt’s request that his pay be increased and his job as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission be elevated to Cabinet rank … evoking an outpouring of bipartisan scorn.”[44] Pitt had tried to insert a provision into corporate antifraud legislation that would increase his pay by 21%, and also elevate his status to that of Cabinet level, at a time when the stock markets had sunk to five-year lows and some congressional leaders were calling for him to resign.[45][46][47][48]

See also

References

  1. ^ “Cabinet Room—White House Museum”. www.whitehousemuseum.org. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
  2. ^ Prakash, Sai. “Essays on Article II:Executive Vesting Clause”. The Heritage Guide to The Constitution. The Heritage Foundation. Archived from the original on July 1, 2018. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Gaziano, Todd. “Essays on Article II: Opinion Clause”. The Heritage Guide to The Constitution. The Heritage Foundation. Archived from the original on July 1, 2018. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  4. ^ “John Adams · George Washington’s Mount Vernon”. Archived from the original on May 17, 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  5. ^ Wulwick, Richard P.; Macchiarola, Frank J. (1995). “Congressional Interference With The President’s Power To Appoint” (PDF). Stetson Law Review. XXIV: 625–652. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 16, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  6. ^ Pierce, Olga (January 22, 2009). “Who Runs Departments Before Heads Are Confirmed?”. ProPublica. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  7. ^ Obama, Barack (December 19, 2014). “Adjustments of Certain Rates of Pay” (PDF). Executive Order 13686. The White House. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 1, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  8. ^ Purcell, Patrick J. (January 21, 2005). “Retirement Benefits for Members of Congress” (PDF). CRS Report for Congress. Congressional Research Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 3, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  9. ^ The White House. “The Cabinet”. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  10. ^ The office of Secretary of Foreign Affairs existed under the Articles of Confederation from October 20, 1781, to March 3, 1789, the day before the Constitution came into force.
  11. ^ “Clayton Yeutter’s Obituary”. The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 31, 2018.
  12. ^ Tenet, George (2007). At the Center of the Storm. London: HarperCollins. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-06-114778-4. Under President Clinton, I was a Cabinet member—a legacy of John Deutch’s requirement when he took the job as DCI—but my contacts with the president, while always interesting, were sporadic. I could see him as often as I wanted but was not on a regular schedule. Under President Bush, the DCI lost its Cabinet-level status.
  13. ^ Schoenfeld, Gabriel (July–August 2007). “The CIA Follies (Cont’d.)”. Commentary. Retrieved May 22, 2009. Though he was to lose the Cabinet rank he had enjoyed under Clinton, he came to enjoy “extraordinary access” to the new President, who made it plain that he wanted to be briefed every day.[permanent dead link]
  14. ^ Sciolino, Elaine (September 29, 1996). “C.I.A. Chief Charts His Own Course”. New York Times. Archived from the original on May 30, 2013. Retrieved May 22, 2009. It is no secret that Mr. Deutch initially turned down the intelligence position, and was rewarded for taking it by getting Cabinet rank.
  15. ^ Clinton, Bill (July 1, 1993). “Remarks by the President and Lee Brown, Director of Office of National Drug Control Policy”. White House. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved May 22, 2009. We are here today to install a uniquely qualified person to lead our nation’s effort in the fight against illegal drugs and what they do to our children, to our streets, and to our communities. And to do it for the first time from a position sitting in the President’s Cabinet.
  16. ^ Cook, Dave (March 11, 2009). “New drug czar gets lower rank, promise of higher visibility”. Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on March 15, 2009. Retrieved March 16, 2009. For one thing, in the Obama administration the Drug Czar will not have Cabinet status, as the job did during George W. Bush’s administration.
  17. ^ “President Clinton Raises FEMA Director to Cabinet Status” (Press release). Federal Emergency Management Agency. February 26, 1996. Archived from the original on January 16, 1997. Retrieved May 22, 2009.
  18. ^ Fowler, Daniel (November 19, 2008). “Emergency Managers Make It Official: They Want FEMA Out of DHS”. CQ Politics. Archived from the original on November 29, 2008. Retrieved March 3, 2010. During the Clinton administration, FEMA Administrator James Lee Witt met with the Cabinet. His successor in the Bush administration, Joe M. Allbaugh, did not.(Archived March 3, 2010, by WebCite at
  19. ^ “A Department of Commerce”. The New York Times. May 13, 1881.
  20. ^ Improving Management and Organization in Federal Natural Resources and Environmental Functions: Hearing Before the Committee on Governmental Affairs, U. S. Senate. Diane Publishing. April 1, 1998. ISBN 9780788148743. Archived from the original on January 14, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2017 – via Google Books. Chairman Stevens. Thank you very much. I think both of you are really pointing in the same direction as this Committee. I do hope we can keep it on a bipartisan basis. Mr. Dean, when I was at the Interior Department, I drafted Eisenhower’s Department of Natural Resources proposal, and we have had a series of them that have been presented.
  21. ^ a b c “116—Special Message to the Congress on Executive Branch Reorganization”. The University of California, Santa Barbara—The American Presidency Project. Archived from the original on February 14, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2017. The administration is today transmitting to the Congress four bills which, if enacted, would replace seven of the present executive departments and several other agencies with four new departments: the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Community Development, the Department of Human Resources and the Department of Economic Affairs.
  22. ^ “Republican Party Platform of 1976”. The University of California, Santa Barbara—The American Presidency Project. August 18, 1976. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
  23. ^ Thrush, Glenn (November 8, 2013). “Locked in the Cabinet”. Politico. Archived from the original on November 17, 2013. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
  24. ^ Rush, Benjamin, M.D. (1806). “A plan of a Peace-Office for the United States”. Essays, Literary, Moral and Philosophical (2nd ed.). Thomas and William Bradford, Philadelphia. pp. 183–188. Retrieved June 3, 2010. benjamin rush peace plan office.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  25. ^ Schuman, Frederick L. (1969). Why a Department of Peace. Beverly Hills: Another Mother for Peace. p. 56. OCLC 339785.
  26. ^ “History of Legislation to Create a Dept. of Peace”. Archived from the original on July 20, 2006.
  27. ^ a b c “10—Summary of the Report of the Committee on Administrative Management”. The University of California, Santa Barbara—The American Presidency Project. Archived from the original on February 13, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2017. Overhaul the more than 100 separate departments, boards, commissions, administrations, authorities, corporations, committees, agencies and activities which are now parts of the Executive Branch, and theoretically under the President, and consolidate them within twelve regular departments, which would include the existing ten departments and two new departments, a Department of Social Welfare, and a Department of Public Works. Change the name of the Department of Interior to Department of Conservation.
  28. ^ “23—Special Message to the Congress Transmitting Reorganization Plan 1 of 1962”. The University of California, Santa Barbara—The American Presidency Project. Archived from the original on February 14, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  29. ^ “121–Special Message to the Congress: The Quality of American Government”. The University of California, Santa Barbara—The American Presidency Project. Archived from the original on February 14, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2017. In my State of the Union Address, and later in my Budget and Economic Messages to the Congress, I proposed the creation of a new Department of Business and Labor.
  30. ^ “33—Special Message to the Congress on Rural Development”. The University of California, Santa Barbara—The American Presidency Project. Archived from the original on February 14, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  31. ^ “116—Special Message to the Congress on Executive Branch Reorganization”. The University of California, Santa Barbara—The American Presidency Project. Archived from the original on February 14, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2017. The new Department of Economic Affairs would include many of the offices that are now within the Departments of Commerce, Labor and Agriculture. A large part of the Department of Transportation would also be relocated here, including the United States Coast Guard, the Federal Railroad Administration, the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Transportation Systems Center, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Motor Carrier Safety Bureau and most of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The Small Business Administration, the Science Information Exchange program from the Smithsonian Institution, the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare and the Office of Technology Utilization from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration would also be included in the new Department.
  32. ^ “Public Notes on 02-RMSP3”. Archived from the original on June 13, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  33. ^ “A Conversation with Michael McConnell”. Council on Foreign Relations (Federal News Service, rush transcript). June 29, 2007. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  34. ^ “Time for a Cabinet-Level U.S. Department of Global Development”. The Center for Global Development. Archived from the original on January 14, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  35. ^ Clarke, John Jr. (January 16, 2009). “Quincy Jones Lobbies Obama for Secretary of Culture Post”. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
  36. ^ “President Obama Announces proposal to reform, reorganize and consolidate Government”. whitehouse.gov. Archived from the original on February 11, 2017. Retrieved February 8, 2017 – via National Archives.
  37. ^ “Obama Suggests ‘Secretary of Business’ in a 2nd Term—Washington Wire—WSJ”. The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on March 1, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  38. ^ “White House Proposes Merging Education And Labor Departments”. NPR.org. Archived from the original on June 21, 2018. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  39. ^ “Delivering Government Solutions in the 21st Century | Reform Plan and Reorganization Recommendations” (PDF). whitehouse.gov. 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 12, 2019.
  40. ^ Warren, Team (June 4, 2019). “A Plan For Economic Patriotism”. Medium. Archived from the original on July 31, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  41. ^ “Regulate AI and other Emerging Technologies”. Andrew Yang for President. Archived from the original on August 20, 2019. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  42. ^ Garber, Megan (July 1, 2013). “Should the U.S. Have a Secretary of Culture?”. The Atlantic. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  43. ^ “Hey Joe—appoint a culture secretary”. theweek.com. November 16, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  44. ^ Stephen Labaton (July 25, 2002). “S.E.C. Chief Draws Ridicule In Quest for Higher Status,” The New York Times.
  45. ^ Labaton, Stephen (October 9, 2002). “Top Democrats and White House Battle Over S.E.C. Chairman”. The New York Times.
  46. ^ Stephen Labaton (November 6, 2002). “S.E.C.’s Embattled Chief Resigns In Wake of Latest Political Storm,” The New York Times.
  47. ^ “SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt shows a tin ear,” Houston Chronicle, July 25, 2002.
  48. ^ “Lawmakers blast Pitt’s pay request”. Chron. July 25, 2002.

Further reading

  • Bennett, Anthony. The American President’s Cabinet. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Macmillan, 1996.ISBN 0-333-60691-4. A study of the U.S. Cabinet from Kennedy to Clinton.
  • Grossman, Mark. Encyclopedia of the United States Cabinet (Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO; three volumes, 2000; reprint, New York: Greyhouse Publishing; two volumes, 2010). A history of the United States and Confederate States Cabinets, their secretaries, and their departments.
  • Rudalevige, Andrew. “The President and the Cabinet”, in Michael Nelson, ed., The Presidency and the Political System, 8th ed. (Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2006).

External links


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Top executives in Biden administration

Most of the top executives in the Biden administration are in his Cabinet. Other executives report to the Secretary of their cabinet’s agency. For example, the Surgeon General reports to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The Cabinet’s role is to advise the President on any subject he or she may require relating to the duties of each member’s respective office.

The cabinet members are displayed in this slider in order of succession to the Presidency. Additional important executives are listed afterwards.

 

OnAir Post: Top executives in Biden administration

Lloyd Austin

Lloyd James Austin III (born August 8, 1953) is an American retired United States Army four-star general serving as the 28th United States secretary of defense since January 22, 2021. He is the first African American to serve as the United States secretary of defense.

Austin previously served as the 12th commander of United States Central Command (CENTCOM) from 2013 to 2016.

OnAir Post: Lloyd Austin

Xavier Becerra

Xavier Becerra (born January 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 25th United States secretary of health and human services in March 2021.

Becerra previously served as the attorney general of California from January 2017 until March 2021. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Downtown Los Angeles in Congress from 1993 to 2017. Becerra, a member of the Democratic Party, was Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus from 2013 to 2017.

OnAir Post: Xavier Becerra

Antony Blinken

Antony John Blinken (born April 16, 1962) is an American government official and diplomat serving as the 71st United States secretary of state since January 26, 2021.

He previously served as deputy national security advisor from 2013 to 2015 and deputy secretary of state from 2015 to 2017 under President Barack Obama.

OnAir Post: Antony Blinken

Pete Buttigieg

Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg (born January 19, 1982) is an American politician and former military officer who has served as the United States secretary of transportation since February 3, 2021.

A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 32nd mayor of South Bend, Indiana from 2012 to 2020, which earned him the nickname “Mayor Pete”.

OnAir Post: Pete Buttigieg

Miguel Cardona

Miguel Angel Cardona (born July 11, 1975) is an American educator and is currently serving as the 12th United States Secretary of Education under President Joe Biden since 2021.

A member of the Democratic Party, he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate by a vote of 64–33 on March 1, 2021. Cardona previously served as commissioner of the Connecticut State Department of Education from 2019 to 2021.

OnAir Post: Miguel Cardona

Merrick Garland

Merrick Brian Garland (born November 13, 1952) is an American attorney and jurist serving as the 86th United States attorney general since March 2021. He served as a circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1997 to 2021.

President Barack Obama, a Democrat, nominated Garland to serve as an associate justice of the Supreme Court in March 2016 to fill the vacancy created by the death of Antonin Scalia. However, the Republican Senate majority refused to hold a hearing or vote on his nomination.

OnAir Post: Merrick Garland

Linda Thomas-Greenfield

Linda Thomas-Greenfield (born November 22, 1952) is an American diplomat who is the United States ambassador to the United Nations under President Joe Biden. She served as the U.S. assistant secretary of state for African affairs from 2013 to 2017. Thomas-Greenfield then worked in the private sector as a senior vice president at Albright Stonebridge Group in Washington, D.C.

President Biden nominated her to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and she was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 23, 2021. She took office after presenting her credentials on February 25, 2021.

OnAir Post: Linda Thomas-Greenfield

Isabel Guzman

Isabella Casillas Guzman (born 1970/1971) is an American government official serving as the administrator of the Small Business Administration in the Biden administration. She assumed office on March 17, 2021.

Beginning April 2019, Guzman served as the director of California’s Office of the Small Business Advocate, a department within the California Governor’s Office of Economic Development.

OnAir Post: Isabel Guzman

Avril Haines

Avril Danica Haines (born August 27, 1969) is an American lawyer and senior government official who currently serves as the Director of National Intelligence in the Biden administration. She is the first woman to serve in this role.

Haines previously served as Deputy National Security Advisor and Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the Obama administration; the first woman to hold either position. Prior to her appointment to the CIA, she served as Deputy Counsel to the President for National Security Affairs in the Office of White House Counsel.

OnAir Post: Avril Haines

Jennifer Granholm

Jennifer Mulhern Granholm (born February 5, 1959) is a Canadian-American politician, lawyer, educator, author, and political commentator serving as the 16th United States secretary of energy.

A member of the Democratic Party, she was the 47th governor of Michigan from 2003 to 2011. She was the first woman to serve as Michigan’s governor, and she earlier served as attorney general of Michigan.

OnAir Post: Jennifer Granholm

John Kerry

John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American politician and diplomat, currently serving as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate.

He previously served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017. An attorney and former naval officer, Kerry first drew public attention as a decorated Vietnam veteran turned anti-war activist. He went on to serve as a prosecutor and as Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, before serving as United States Senator from Massachusetts from 1985 to 2013.

A member of the Democratic Party, he was the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in the 2004 election, which he lost to incumbent President George W. Bush.

OnAir Post: John Kerry

Ron Klain

Ronald Alan Klain (born August 8, 1961) is an American attorney, political consultant, and former lobbyist serving as White House chief of staff under President Joe Biden.

A Democrat, he was previously chief of staff to two vice presidents, Al Gore from 1995 to 1999 and Biden from 2009 to 2011. He was also appointed by President Obama as White House Ebola Response Coordinator after the appearance of Ebola virus cases in the United States, serving from 2014 to 2015. Throughout 2020 he worked as a senior advisor to Biden’s presidential campaign. Following his victory, Biden announced on November 12 that Klain would serve as White House chief of staff.

OnAir Post: Ron Klain

Eric Lander

Eric Steven Lander (born February 3, 1957) is an American mathematician and geneticist who is the 11th Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and Science Advisor to the President, serving on the Cabinet in both capacities.

Lander is a professor of biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a professor of systems biology at Harvard Medical School, a former member of the Whitehead Institute, and the founding director of the Broad Institute. He is a 1987 MacArthur Fellow and Rhodes Scholar. Lander co-chaired President Barack Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

OnAir Post: Eric Lander

Alejandro Mayorkas

Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas (born November 24, 1959) is an American government official and attorney who has served as the seventh United States secretary of homeland security since February 2, 2021.

During the Obama administration, he also served in the Department of Homeland Security, first as director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (2009–2013), and then as deputy secretary of DHS (2013–2016).

OnAir Post: Alejandro Mayorkas

Denis McDonough

Denis Richard McDonough (born December 2, 1969) is an American government official serving as the 11th United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs under President Joe Biden since 2021.

From 2013 to 2017, McDonough served as White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama, the only chief of staff to date to serve a full four-year term exactly.[citation needed] He served in the Obama Administration as Deputy National Security Advisor from 2010 to 2013 and as chief of staff at the National Security Council from 2009 to 2010.

OnAir Post: Denis McDonough

Gina Raimondo

Gina Marie Raimondo (born May 17, 1971) is an American politician and venture capitalist serving since 2021 as the 40th and current United States Secretary of Commerce.

A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the 75th and first female Governor of Rhode Island from 2015 to 2021.

OnAir Post: Gina Raimondo

Michael Regan

Michael Stanley Regan (born August 6, 1976) is an American environmental regulator. He has been serving as the 16th administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency since March 11, 2021.

He is the first Black man to serve in the role. Regan has formerly served as the secretary of North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality and air quality specialist in the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). His elevation to that role was widely praised by environmental groups because of his track record for addressing environmental racism and supporting policy to address climate change.

OnAir Post: Michael Regan

Cecilia Rouse

Cecilia Elena Rouse  born December 18, 1963) is an American economist currently serving as the 30th Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers. She is the first African American to hold this position.

Prior to this, she served as the dean of the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. Joe Biden nominated Rouse to be Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers in November 2020. On March 2, 2021, Rouse was overwhelmingly confirmed by the Senate, 95–4.

OnAir Post: Cecilia Rouse

Katherine Tai

Katherine Chi Tai (born March 18, 1974) is an American attorney serving as the 19th United States Trade Representative since March 18, 2021. She is the first Asian-American to serve in the position. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the chief trade counsel for the United States House Committee on Ways and Means.

Nominated in December 2020, she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate unanimously (98–0 with two senators absent), making her the only member of the Cabinet of Joe Biden to be confirmed with no opposition.

OnAir Post: Katherine Tai

Tom Vilsack

Thomas James Vilsack (born December 13, 1950) is an American politician serving as the 32nd United States secretary of agriculture in the Biden Administration.

He previously served in the role from 2009 to 2017 during the Obama Administration. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 40th governor of Iowa from 1999 to 2007.

OnAir Post: Tom Vilsack

Marty Walsh

Martin Joseph Walsh (born April 10, 1967) is an American politician and former union official. He has been the 29th United States Secretary of Labor since March 23, 2021.

A Democrat, he previously served as the 54th mayor of Boston from 2014, until resigning in 2021 after being confirmed by the United States Senate to serve as secretary of labor in the Cabinet of President Joe Biden. Before his mayoralty, he served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, representing the Thirteenth Suffolk district from 1997 until 2014.

OnAir Post: Marty Walsh

Janet Yellen

Janet Louise Yellen (born August 13, 1946) is an American economist, educator and government official who has served as the 78th United States secretary of the treasury since January 26, 2021.

A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the 15th chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018. She is the first woman to hold either role. She is also a professor emerita at Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, and formerly a distinguished fellow in residence at the Brookings Institution.

She is the first person in American history to have led the White House Council of Economic Advisors, the Federal Reserve, and the Treasury Department.

OnAir Post: Janet Yellen

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