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- The Department of Commerce supports the economy by developing and executing policies to promote American businesses and industries. It promotes exports and enforces international trade agreements with other countries.

LABOR

- The Department of Labor administers federal programs to protect and improve the productivity of workers. It runs programs to address job training, minimum hourly wage and overtime pay, employment discrimination, and unemployment insurance.

DEFENSE

- The Department of Defense protects the security of our country. It consists of the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marines, and U.S. Air Force as well as the Joint Chiefs of Staff and 17 defense agencies.

HEALTH & HUMAN RESOURCES

- The Department of Health and Human Services is concerned with protecting public health and providing social services to those least able to support themselves. It provides health insurance and administers programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. It

HOUSING & URBAN DEVELOPMENT

-  The Department of Housing and Urban Development is responsible for national policies and programs that address America’s housing needs, improve and develop the nation’s communities, and enforce fair housing laws.

TRANSPORTATION

- The Department of Transportation develops policy and administers a variety of programs relating to transportation. Its programs oversee the nation’s mass transit systems, railroads, bridges, and waterways.

ENERGY

- The Department of Energy executes law and policies about the nation’s energy. It administers funding for research and innovation in science and engineering, including programs to promote affordable and clean energy to protect the environment.

EDUCATION

- The Department of Education provides assistance to public and private schools, collects data from schools, distributes research results, and administers federal financial aid programs.

VETERANS AFFAIR

- The VA administers benefit programs for veterans and their families and survivors.

HOMELAND SECURITY

- The Department of Homeland Security coordinates national efforts to protect against acts of terrorism that would jeopardize the American people, key resources, and critical infrastructure. If an incident does occur, it leads the efforts to respond and to recover.

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- The Department of State is responsible for developing and implementing the foreign policy of the United States.
- It represents the United States to the United Nations and to more than 180 other countries through its network of ambassadors and civilian Foreign Service employees who work at embassies and consulates around the world.

Treasury

- The Department of Treasury manages the monetary resources of the country.
- It includes the U.S. Mint, which manufactures coins, and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which produces paper money.

Interior

- The Department of the Interior executes federal policy and programs to protect natural resources including public lands and minerals.
- It supports research to protect fish, wildlife, and endangered species.

Agriculture

- The U.S. Department of Agriculture develops and executes policy on farming, agriculture, and food.

Justice

- The Department of Justice enforces federal laws designed to protect public safety, reduce crime, punish people who break laws, enforce civil rights, and ensure justice for all Americans.

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- The president’s cabinet includes each of the heads of the 15 executive branch departments.
- Today, nearly 2.8 million civilians work for the federal government.
- The government owns about 900,000 buildings scattered across the nation and around the world.
- Much of the federal government’s work is associated with the 15 executive departments.
- The title for the person who heads each executive department is “secretary,” except for the head of the Department of Justice, who is called the attorney general.

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- The nation’s first presidents had no personal staff.
- George Washington hired his nephew at his own expense to be his personal secretary.
- Unlike cabinet members, most White House staff can be chosen without Senate confirmation.
They are often long time supporters and personal friends of the president, vice president, and the president’s spouse.
- These top assistants become a kind of inner circle around the president.
- The president’s most trusted adviser is usually the White House chief of staff.
- He or she oversees all of the work and operations of the White House and EOP and regulates access to the president.
- In the Office of Communications, speech writers, press liaisons, and the press secretary handle relations with the press corps, set up press conferences, and issue public statements.
- Recent presidents have given top White House staff more authority over policy-making

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- The National Security Council  is composed of the president’s senior national security advisers and cabinet officials.
- They advise the president and coordinate American military and foreign policy.
- They also coordinate the government’s planning for and response to domestic terrorism and catastrophes.
- A special assistant, the National Security Advisor, directs the NSC staff.

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- The OMB is the largest agency within the Executive Office of the President.
- It prepares the national budget for the president, who then presents it to Congress.
- OMB reviews agency regulations and legislative proposals.
- Each year all executive departments and agencies submit their budgets to the OMB.
- OMB officials then review them and recommend where to make cuts in each agency’s budget.

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- The president looks to the experts in his or her Executive Office of the President.
- This group is supervised by the White House chief of staff and has become the president’s closest group of advisers.
- EOP agency staffs include attorneys, scientists, social scientists, and other highly technical or professional personnel.
- Many of today’s huge federal programs require that several executive departments and agencies work together.

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Factors Limiting the Influence of the Cabinet

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Factors Limiting the Influence of the Cabinet

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- No president commands the complete loyalty of cabinet members.
-  Even though the president appoints them, cabinet officials have loyalties to three other constituencies: long-term officials in their own department, members of Congress, and special interest groups.
- Each of these groups has a stake in the department’s programs.
- Each may push the secretary in directions that do not always agree with the president’s plans and policies; or with each other.
- Sometimes disagreements arise among different cabinet secretaries.
- These might be a result of loyalty to their department’s programs, to its constituent groups, or to personal animosity.

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The Functions and Changing Role of the Cabinet

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The Functions and Changing Role of the Cabinet

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- The purpose of the cabinet is to advise the president and to lead executive branch departments.
-The cabinet meets when the president calls it together.
- Meetings might be held once a week or more or less frequently depending on the preference and the needs of a president.
- Meetings take place in the cabinet room of the White House and are usually closed to the public and the press.
- The cabinet’s role in decision making depended on the president’s wishes.
- Some cabinet members have greater influence because their departments are concerned with the most sensitive national issues.
- The secretaries of state, defense, and the treasury, as well as the attorney general fill this role in most administrations.

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- One of the first responsibilities of a president is to select his or her cabinet, people who serve as some of the president’s closest advisers.
- The cabinet includes the secretaries of each of the 15 executive departments, the vice president, and other key officials.
- The importance of the cabinet and as an illustration of checks and balances, the president cannot simply choose his or her cabinet.
- The Senate must confirm each person the president nominates to be cabinet secretary.