The President’s Cabinet

The president’s group of advisors is called his cabinet. The Constitution says nothing about the president having a cabinet, but George Washington created one when he became president and it became tradition.

The cabinet has an important role in presidential succession--who takes over if the president dies or cannot perform his duties.

Who takes over after the president? Here’s the order…President of the United States

Vice-President Speaker of

the HousePresident

pro tempore The 15

cabinet members in order

The 15 cabinet departments are: (in order of their succession

to the presidency) 1. Department of State~ plans and

carries out US foreign policy

2. Department of the Treasury ~ Collects,

borrows, and prints all US money

3. Department of Defense ~ manages

the armed forces

4. Department of Justice ~ headed by the Attorney General of the US, it is

responsible for all aspects of law enforcement

5. Department of the Interior ~ manages and protect public lands

6. Department of Agriculture ~ assists farmers and consumers of farm products

7. Department of Commerce ~ supervises trade and promotes US tourism and businesses

8. Department of Labor ~ keeps track of working conditions,

wages, and unemployment

9. Department of Health and Human Services ~

runs the Center for Disease Control (CDC);

monitors disease outbreaks and health

trends

10. Department of Housing and Urban

Development ~ Deals with the special needs

and problems that arise in big cities

11. Department of Transportation ~ manages

US highways, railroads, airlines and seaports

12. Department of Energy ~ directs an overall energy plan

for the US 13. Department of Education ~ provides advice and funding for

the public schools 14. Department of Veteran’s Affairs ~ directs services for

veterans

15. Department of Homeland Security ~ created by George

Bush immediately after the 9/11 attacks, it coordinates

information about possible threats to the US