Under the US Constitution, a president must be;• A natural-born US citizen• At least 35 years old• A US resident for at least 14 years

What is the Cabinet and why is it there?

Read Article 2 Section 2.What is the constitutional basis for the

cabinet?

Constitutional Analysis

Enquiry Question: How important is the Cabinet?

Learning Objectives

• To examine the role and powers of the Cabinet• To complete a short-answer exam question:

How important is the president’s cabinet?• To understand the role and structure of the

EOP• To identify the role played by the CEA, WHO,

NSC and OMB

An official advisory board to the president, composed of the heads (secretaries) of the 14

major departments of the federal government.

The secretaries, or chief administrators are appointed by

the President with the consent of the Senate.

Approval is normally taken for granted, but recent years have seen many rejections.

Pause For Thought

12 cabinet appointments have been rejected:– 1834: Taney– 1843: Cushing (three times!)– 1844: Henshaw; Porter;

Green– 1868: Stanberry– 1925: Warren (twice)– 1959: Strauss– 1989: John Tower

Cabinet Appointments

Cabinet Nominations RejectedName: Lewis L. StraussNominated by: Dwight EisenhowerNomination Position: CommerceDate Nominated: January 17, 1959Date Rejected: June 18, 1959Vote: 46-49https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Cabinet_Nomination_Defeated.htm

Name: John G. TowerNominated by: George H.W. BushNomination Position: DefenseDate Nominated: January 20, 1989Date Rejected: March 9, 1989Vote: 47-53http://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/10/us/senate-rejects-tower-53-47-first-cabinet-veto-since-59-bush-confers-new-choice.html

Cabinet Nominations WithdrawnName: Zoe E. BairdNominated by: William J. ClintonNomination Position: Attorney GeneralDate Nominated: January 21, 1993Date Withdrawn: January 26, 1993

(Note: Two other Clinton AG choices, Kimba Wood and Lani Guinier, were never

formally nominated.)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nannygate

Name: Linda ChavezNominated by: George W. BushNomination Position: LaborDate Nominated: January 3, 2001Date Withdrawn: January 9, 2001http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0101/09/bn.02.html

Name: Anthony LakeNominated by: William J. ClintonNomination Position: Director, CIADate Nominated: January 9, 1997Date Withdrawn: April 18, 1997http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1997/03/31/tony-lake-is-missing Name: Hershel W. GoberNominated by: William J. ClintonNomination Position: Veterans AffairsDate Nominated: July 31, 1997Date Withdrawn: October 27, 1997http://articles.latimes.com/1997/oct/25/news/mn-46573

Name: Bernard KerikNominated by: George W. BushNomination Position: Homeland SecurityDate Nominated: December 2, 2004Date Withdrawn: December 10, 2004http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/people/features/11618/

Meet Obama’s CabinetYOUR TASK:• Read the handout “THE SECOND TERM OBAMA ADMINISTRATION” on the VLE• Discuss and answer the key questions

Pause For Thought

CREATION OF CABINET DEPARTMENTS• Department of State – 1789• Department of Treasury – 1789• Department of the Interior – 1849• Department of Agriculture – 1862• Department of Justice – 1870• Department of Commerce – 1903• Department of Labour – 1913• Department of Defence – 1947

(War 1789, Navy 1798, Air Force 1947)• Department of Housing and Urban Development – 1965• Department of Transportation – 1966• Department of Energy – 1977• Department of Education – 1979• Department of Health and Human Services – 1979• Department of Veterans Affairs – 1989• Department of Homeland Security - 2002

Cabinet DepartmentsThe Growth of the

Cabinet• The modern

Cabinet has grown and adapted over 2 centuries, but it is comparatively rare for new Departments to be created.

• Presidents do not want to be seen to be increasing the power of the federal government or their own power.

What roles and functions does the

cabinet fulfil?

What roles and functions does the Cabinet fulfil?15 marks = 15 minutes

Executive Office of the PresidencyIts primary responsibilities are;• Preparing the budget (which is done by the Office of

Management and Budget)• Planning long-term economic strategies (which is done by the

Council of Economic Advisors)• Co-ordinating the country’s diplomatic and military policies

(which is done by the National Security Council)• Running the White House Office, where the president’s

advisors work with him to develop the administration’s political strategies, provide advice on response to emergencies, present the president’s proposals to the American people and the wider world, liaise and negotiate with Congress and provide a link between the White House and the government departments.

• As government grew throughout the 20th century, and especially since the New Deal of the 1930s, it became apparent that the president needed support to supervise the bureaucracy.

• As a result, the Executive Office of the Presidency was established.

• Its purpose is to ensure that the president is in a position to make ‘responsible decisions, and then when decisions have been made, to assist him in seeing to it that every administrative department and agency is properly informed’.

• The following entities exist within the Executive Office of the President:

• Council of Economic Advisers• Council on Environmental Quality• Executive Residence• National Security Staff• Office of Administration• Office of Management and Budget• Office of National Drug Control Policy• Office of Science and Technology

Policy• Office of the United States Trade

Representative• Office of the Vice President• White House Office

Executive Office of the Presidency

• Domestic Policy Council – Office of National AIDS Policy– Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood

Partnerships– Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation

• National Security Advisor• National Economic Council• Office of Cabinet Affairs• Office of the Chief of Staff• Office of Communications

– Office of the Press Secretary– Media Affairs– Research– Speechwriting

• Office of Digital Strategy• Office of the First Lady

– Office of the Social Secretary• Office of Legislative Affairs• Office of Management and Administration

– White House Personnel– White House Operations– Telephone Office– Visitors Office

• Oval Office Operations• Office of Presidential Personnel• Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental

Affairs – Office of Public Engagement

• Council on Women and Girls– Office of Intergovernmental Affairs– Office of Urban Affairs

• Office of Scheduling and Advance• Office of the Staff Secretary

– Presidential Correspondence– Executive Clerk– Records Management

• Office of the White House Counsel

President Obama’s White House Staff

Executive Office of the PresidencyThe EOP is led by people whose loyalty to the president is unquestioned. Often they have a longstanding relationship with the president, having bee close to him for many years even

before he declared to run for election to the position. The top advisors to President Bush Jr, such as Karl Rove, worked with him in Texas, while President Obama and his chief of staff,

Rahm Emmanuel, are both from Illinois. In addition, most do not have to be confirmed by the Senate and they are not subject to congressional committee monitoring. The president often has greater confidence that his agenda will be advanced by the EOP than by the cabinet ad

relies on the EOP to ensure that government departments implement the law in ways that are consistent with his overall aims and objectives.

What qualities are important for an executive appointee to have?

• Integrity• Loyalty• Commitment to the President’s Program• Ability

– Intellectual– Political– Savvy in ways of Washington– Interpersonal– Managerial!!!

Is there a loyalty-competency trade off?

Do you find all of these in one person?

Would you employ someone either;

a) highly capable, but of questionable loyalty

ORb) fairly competent, but fiercely loyal

Cabinet or EXOP:Which is more important to the President?

Cabinet• Cabinet tends to be used to

ensure that the work of the executive branch is directed and drawn together

• Generally plays a limited role – it meets infrequently and President may overrule it

• Cabinet members may not have a close relationship with the President

• Cabinet members torn between their loyalty to President, departments and interest groups

• Unlike British PM not totally reliant on their support

EXOP• Consists of personal

aides/different components NSC, OMB, WHO

• NS adviser used in different ways – Kissinger spearheaded foreign policy initiatives with China during Nixon; Clinton’s advisers eclipsed by secs of state – Christopher and Albright

• Can play a more significant role – why?

• ‘staffers’ in EXOP more likely to be long term associates

• Closer proximity

EVALUATION POINTS:• Presidents have used EOP and Cabinet in different ways – Nixon over dependent

on his closest aides (Watergate)• Significance of cabinet depends upon individual style of presidents – Eisenhower

collective decision making• Reagan used Cabinet councils – 6-11 cabinet members to advise and develop

policy• Some Cabinet members have played an important role in shaping policy e.g.

James Baker Secretary of State 1989-93 close relationship with Bush Snr; Rice and Rumsfeld. Importance of bilateral meetings.

• President is the sole course of political authority and Cabinet has no formal role. Use of it is at the President’s discretion.

• Rallying and mobilising support for particular policies

“Presidents have the gravest difficulties as it is gaining control of a notoriously fractious political system, without the expertise and

assistance of the EOP they would be helpless and the US would be truly ungovernable.” – David Mervin

Homework

Reading and Note TakingThe Cabinet, p248-260Chapter 6, EOP Cabinet-rivalries p266-268