Presidential cabinet definition

The presidential cabinet advises the president and includes heads of 15 executive departments, nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

Published Aug 30, 2026by the USAFacts team

The presidential cabinet is an advisory body made up of the heads of the 15 executive departments, such as the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security. The president nominates cabinet members, and the Senate votes on whether to confirm them.

Congress creates each executive department by law and assigns it the work it carries out. The Department of Veterans Affairs, for example, runs health care and benefits programs for veterans.

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Who is in the presidential cabinet?

Cabinet members take the title of “secretary,” except the head of the Justice Department, who is called the attorney general.

The cabinet members are as follows, listed in order of presidential succession (following the vice president, the speaker of the House, and the president pro tempore of the Senate):

  • Secretary of State
  • Secretary of the Treasury
  • Secretary of Defense
  • Attorney General
  • Secretary of the Interior
  • Secretary of Agriculture
  • Secretary of Commerce
  • Secretary of Labor
  • Secretary of Health and Human Services
  • Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
  • Secretary of Transportation
  • Secretary of Energy
  • Secretary of Education

What does the presidential cabinet do?

Cabinet members run the departments that enforce and administer federal law day to day. They also advise the president on matters that fall within their department.

This advisory role is laid out in Article II of the Constitution, which says the president may require a written opinion from the head of any executive department on any subject relating to that officer’s duties.

How are cabinet members chosen?

There are three stages to choosing a cabinet member: the White House picks and vets a candidate, the Senate decides whether to confirm, and the president completes the appointment.

Before the president sends a name to the Senate, the candidate files a financial disclosure report and a national security questionnaire, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation often runs a background check. This vetting stage is often the longest part of the process.

The Senate sends the nomination to the committee that oversees the department. The committee investigates the nominee and can hold a public hearing where senators question the candidate directly.

The committee then decides whether to send the nomination to the full Senate. They can provide a favorable recommendation, an unfavorable one, or none at all. Then comes a floor vote, which requires a majority of senators to be present and voting.

Once confirmed with, as the Constitution says, the advice and consent of the Senate, the nominee receives a commission signed by the president and is sworn in.

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