Congressional Relations with the Cabinet
Overview
Congressional Relations with the Cabinet
The President’s Cabinet is not specifically identified in the U.S. Constitution although it
is implied in Article II, Section 2 which states that the President can require “the Opinion, in
writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating
to the Duties of their respective Offices.” President George Washington (1789-1797) appointed
four cabinet members: Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander
Hamilton, Secretary of War Henry Knox, and Attorney General Edmund Randolph. All cabinet
members serve with the title of “Secretary” except for Attorney General, who heads the
Department of Justice. As the nation has grown, so too has the size of the Cabinet. Currently the
cabinet consists of the President, Vice-President, and the heads of the 15 executive departments.
The most recent addition was the Department of Homeland Security which was added by
President George W. Bush (R, 2001-2009) in 2003 in the wake of the September 11, 2001
terrorist attacks.
Cabinet nominees are confirmed or rejected by a simple majority vote in the Senate; the
House plays no role in this process. Article I of the U.S. Constitution states that “no person
holding any office under the United States shall be a member of either house during his
continuance in office.” Therefore, sitting members of Congress must relinquish their seats in
order to accept a Cabinet appointment such as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (2009-present)
who resigned from her U.S. Senate seat representing New York that she had held since 2001 in
order to take that position.
Congress and the Cabinet tend to have an adversarial relationship due to the checks and
balances contained in the Constitution. The Cabinet serves to assist the President with executive
responsibilities, while Congress tends to clash with the executive branch in serving its oversight
function. Since Congress creates the laws, it often holds hearings and investigates executive
actions to ensure that statutes are being enforced as Congress had intended. Checks and balances
such as oversight functions serve to prevent one branch of the government from becoming too
powerful. However, conflict does sometimes emerge due to disparate goals between the
president and Congress.
In an effort to improve the relationship between the executive and legislative branches,
presidents often choose former Congress members to serve in their Cabinet. Former members
have extensive knowledge of the inner workings of Congress, while they can also draw upon
close personal relationships formed while serving in Congress in their efforts to smooth over
sometimes combative interactions. Another key reason for nominating former Congress
members, especially U.S. Senators, is that Cabinet positions give presidents an opportunity to
repay favors to Congressional leaders, especially to those who lost their bid for re-election. And,
the Senate, in considering the nomination of a current or former Senator, is voting on “one of
their own”, which increases the chances that the confirmation will go smoothly. President
George H.W. Bush (R, 1989-1993) appointed 9 former Congress members during his tenure
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while President Barack Obama (D, 2009-present) currently has 5 former Congress members
serving in his Cabinet.
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