The president’s cabinet: A look at its history, the duties of members
After being sworn in on April 30, 1789, on the balcony of New York City’s Federal Hall, George Washington waited until September to choose the four key department heads who would help him do his job as the head of the Executive Branch of our new federal government.
By that time James Madison, the most prominent author of the Constitution, had won approval to call the department heads secretaries (from the British tradition for those who keep secrets), who meet in a safe room (from the British tradition called a cabinet) to discuss major issues. One of the first orders of business was the national debt.
As Henry Knox, the secretary of war, and Washington listened to the debate between Alexander Hamilton, the secretary of the treasury, and Thomas Jefferson, secretary of state, on how to pay our nation’s debts, Attorney General Edmund Randolph threw his support toward Jefferson’s position.
Washington eventually supported Hamilton’s position — a financial plan involving government-backed bonds and a central bank. Jefferson and Randolph, both Virginians, walked away with a compromise involving moving the nation’s capital from Philadelphia to a location we now know as the District of Columbia.
At that time, our federal government had 50 employees serving a population of approximately 4,000,000, that included approximately 700,000 slaves.
In 2025, President Donald Trump walks into a Cabinet Room located near his ceremonial Oval Office and sits at an expansive table where more than 20 members of his cabinet meet to discuss the major issues of his administration.
He is flanked by the secretary of state and vice president. All other cabinet members are seated according to the date their departments were approved by Congress, which also indicates their rank to succeed the president, if needed. The other cabinet members head up defense, justice, interior, agriculture, commerce, labor, health and human services, housing and urban development, transportation, energy, education, veterans affairs, and homeland security.
Additional members not at the level of secretary are important in all decision making, but not in line to succeed the president. They include the White House chief of staff, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, head of the Office of Management and Budget, U.S. Trade Representative, the ambassador to the U.N., head of the Council of Economic Advisers, the small business administrator, head of national security, and head of the CIA. Others may also be included as the president sees fit.
There are now approximately 3 million civil servants who support the efforts of Congress, Executive Branch, and the Judiciary — not counting the approximately 2 million active and reserve military personnel and numerous civilian contractors. They make up less than 2% of our nation’s workforce. They serve our nation’s current population of approximately 344,000,000.
Normally our civil servants are taken for granted as they go about their duties to support our bureaucracy. They swear to support the Constitution — not a political party. With a few exceptions (appointments approved by the Senate), they must pass rigorous examinations, pass strict security investigations, and maintain high standards during their time in service. Their positions are funded by Congress.
They are the experts in their fields and write the supporting regulations for laws passed by the Legislative branch and approved by the president. They also make sure the regulations are followed and provide ongoing services to the public. If their efforts are questioned, they may be called before any House or Senate permanent, joint, or temporary committee to answer for their actions unless they have executive privilege, which is rare. Failure to appear may result in being criminally charged.
Since January, President Donald Trump has tasked a new organization called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to reduce administrative costs, introduce new efficiencies, and uncover fraud and waste in the Executive Branch of the federal government. Now may be a good time to review the different government entities that DOGE is investigating — their histories, a brief organization of each, and their duties to serve the public. This is because many people’s lives are going to be affected, and the landscape of our current government may change significantly.
To do this, I will attack the elephant one bite at a time — starting with our oldest cabinet position — the State Department. That will be followed in the order in which each department was incorporated into our federal system. Finally, I will briefly cover the additional positions also at cabinet level, like the head of the CIA and the ambassador to the U.N.
Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution states that the role of these people is to advise the president on any subject she or he may require relating to the duties of each member’s respective office. I look forward to describing the history and duties of the cabinet in my future columns.
About this series
This is the first in a series of columns on the president’s cabinet by Bruce Simmons of Aurora, who worked in the private sector in Washington, D.C., for 25 years before leaving to become a high school humanities teacher. He is retired now and writes novels. Visit his website at bwsimmons.org.