2. Selection of the Cabinet
• The president appoints the secretaries that
head the 15 major executive departments.
• The 15 secretaries, the vice president, and
several other top officials make up the
cabinet.
• Cabinet secretaries advise the president, but
they also serve as the administrators of large
bureaucracies.
3. • Before making final cabinet decisions,
members of the president-elect’s team may
leak, or deliberately disclose, some
candidates’ names to the news media to test
the reaction of Congress, interest groups, and
the public.
Selection of the Cabinet(cont.)
4. The Role of the Cabinet
• Each cabinet member is responsible for the
executive department that he or she heads.
• As a group, the cabinet is intended to serve
as an advisory body to the president.
• Throughout history, the cabinet’s role in
decision making depended on the president’s
wishes.
Historical and Political
Reasons for Cabinet Status
5. • Though several recent presidents have
attempted to increase the cabinet’s role, most
have ended up going elsewhere for advice.
The Role of the Cabinet(cont.)
Historical and Political
Reasons for Cabinet Status
6. • Some cabinet members—known as the “inner
cabinet”—have greater influence because
their departments are concerned with the
most sensitive national issues. They include:
– secretary of state,
– secretary of defense,
– secretary of treasury, and
– the attorney general.
The Role of the Cabinet(cont.)
Historical and Political
Reasons for Cabinet Status
