University of Virginia Center for Politics
Presidential Appointments: Process and Politics
Purpose: The success of a president in carrying out his or her public policy agenda often depends on the
loyalty and effectiveness of cabinet secretaries, ambassadors and department heads in his or her
administration. In choosing the right person for the job, the president must navigate the political
minefield of the nomination process. This lesson requires students to investigate the history and function
of the presidential cabinet, identify the key players in the nomination process, and analyze the role of
politics in the appointment of cabinet secretaries.
Objectives:
1. Students will identify key facts about the president’s cabinet, as well as the role of the original cabinet
under President Washington.
2. Students will research the function and purpose of each of the fifteen cabinet departments, and
identify the current secretary leading each.
3. Students will identify the Constitutional requirements of the appointment process.
4. Students will describe and identify the key players involved in the nomination process.
5. Students will analyze the influence of politics on the presidential appointment process.
6. Students will interpret and analyze political cartoons.
Key Words:
cabinet
checks and balances
separation of powers
confirmation process
“advice and consent”
Line of Succession
Materials:
1. The President’s Cabinet article
2. The President’s Cabinet: Important Facts spidergram student handout and teacher key
3. President Washington and the First Cabinet student handout and teacher key
4. Scavenger Hunt: Cabinet Departments student handout and teacher key
5. U.S. Constitution and Presidential Appointments overhead
6. Presidential Appointment Process flow chart, overhead or student handout
7. The Cabinet in the United States article
8. Factors That Influence Presidential Appointments overhead
9. Role Play: Choosing a Cabinet – What Presidents Consider When Making Appointments
10. Help Wanted Advertisement: Cabinet Secretary student handout and resources
11. Political Cartoons overhead or student handout
12. The Politics of Presidential Appointments Jigsaw Activity and Articles student handout
Procedure:
1. Warm Up: Why Does the President Need a Cabinet?
a. Read The President’s Cabinet.
b. Ask students to complete “spidergram” The President’s Cabinet: Important Facts.
c. Pass out President Washington and the First Cabinet student handout, and ask students to
respond to the questions. Teachers may want to have students work with a partner or in
small groups.
2. The President’s Cabinet Scavenger Hunt
a. Option 1: Each student is given a cabinet graphic organizer to 1) identify the year created,
2) identify the current cabinet secretary, and 3) briefly describe the major function or
responsibility of each department.
b. Option 2: Divide the class into 15 small groups and assign each a cabinet department to
research, and then present to the class.
3. The U.S. Constitution and Presidential Appointments: Project the U.S. Constitution and
Presidential Appointments and ask students to discuss the following:
a. Identify the Constitutional requirements for appointing members to the President’s cabinet.
b. How do these constitutional provisions promote checks and balances of the three branches of
the federal government?
4. The Appointment Process: Pass out the flow chart Presidential Appointment Process handout,
and project it as an overhead.
a. Ask students to identify the Constitutional requirements shown in the flow chart.
b. Then discuss what role each group or individual plays in the appointment process.
c. Ask students to analyze how partisan politics plays a role in the appointment process.
5. Think-Pair-Share Role Play: What do Presidents consider when making cabinet or
government agency appointments?
a. Have students read the short article The Cabinet in the United States.
b. Ask students to work with a partner and take on the roles of president and White House Chief
of Staff. The pair should brainstorm a list of characteristics the president thinks is important
when considering a potential cabinet or agency nominee.
c. After students share their lists with the rest of the class, project Factors That Influence
Presidential Appointments overhead. Ask students to compare and contrast the factors on the
transparency with those discussed in class.
d. Then ask students to rank the considerations in terms of importance (1 being the most
important factor; 11, the least important). Students may rank the factors individually, or with a
partner, then compare their results with the rest of the class.
6. Simulation Role Play: Help Wanted – Cabinet Secretary
a. Pass out the Help Wanted Advertisement: Cabinet Secretary student handout, and go over the
directions.
b. Divide the class into five teams, one for each of the five secretaries listed in the directions.
Note: Teachers may substitute other cabinet positions, or even have teams for each position.
c. Each team should create a help wanted ad for the assigned cabinet secretary position.
d. If students do not have access to computers, pass out the Help Wanted Ad: Cabinet Secretary
– Resources.
e. Each team will present their ad to the whole class.
7. Wrap-up: Interpreting Political Cartoons - Project the political cartoons depicting President
Obama’s cabinet nominees via overhead or PowerPoint. Ask students to interpret the cartoons:
a. Describe the context of the political cartoon (Who? What? When? Where?).
b. Identify and discuss the cartoonist message. What bias(ses) can you detect?
c. Do you agree or disagree with the cartoonist's message? Explain your answer.
d. Explain how the cartoon relates to the process and politics of presidential appointments.
Appendix: PowerPoint Resource
Extension Activities:
1. Jigsaw: The Politics of Presidential Appointments
a. Pass out The Politics of Presidential Appointments Jigsaw Activity directions and articles.
Note: Teachers may want to assign the articles ahead of time for homework.
b. Go over the jigsaw activity directions, and divide the class into four teams for Round 1.
c. Round 1 Directions: Students meet in small groups (“expert group”) with other people who
were given the same article and discuss it, using the guided questions provided. The purpose
of this meeting is for students to become experts on their particular article.
d. After about 10 minutes, create new groups that have one “expert” from each article.
e. Round 2 Directions: The second part of the activity involves peer-teaching. Students will be
put into different small groups (“teaching group”) with people who had different articles.
Each group member highlights the main point of her/his article, using the questions discussed
with in the “expert group” as a guide. Each member of the teaching group will explain their
particular selection in turn. Finally, once everyone in your teaching group has shared their
material, the group will discuss the last three overarching questions.
2. Cabinet Maker Activity – A fun, online game in which students select a cabinet nominee.
http://innovation.cq.com/
Student Handout
The President's Cabinet
The purpose of the Cabinet is to advise the President on matters relating to the duties of their respective
offices. As the President's closest and most trusted advisors, members of the Cabinet attend weekly
meetings with the President. The Constitution does not directly mention a "Cabinet," but the
Constitutional authority for a Cabinet is found in Article II, Section 2. The Constitution states that the
President "may require the opinion, in writing of the principle officer in each of the executive
departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices." The Constitution does not
say which or how many executive departments should be created.
Who makes up the Cabinet?
The Cabinet traditionally includes the Vice President and the heads of 15 executive departments-the
Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services,
Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury,
and Veterans Affairs, and the Attorney General. Cabinet-level rank has also been given to the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget; the Director of the National Drug Control Policy; the Assistant to the President for Homeland
Security; and the U.S. Trade Representative.
When requested by the President, other officials are asked to attend these weekly meetings including, the
President's Chief of Staff, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the Chairman of the Council of
Economic Advisors, the Counselor to the President, the Director of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, and the U.S. Representative to the
United Nations.
How does one become a member of the Cabinet?
The 15 Secretaries from the executive departments are appointed by the President, and they must be
confirmed by a majority vote (51 votes) of the Senate. They cannot be a member of Congress or hold any
other elected office. Cabinet appointments are for the duration of the administration, but the President
may dismiss any member at any time, without approval of the Senate. In addition, they are expected to
resign when a new President takes office.
Source: http://bensguide.gpo.gov/9-12/government/national/cabinet.html
Teacher Key
Cabinet
Secretaries advise
the President
There are 15
cabinet
departments
today
Cabinet not
specifically
included in the
Constitution
Cabinet based
upon tradition &
secretaries serve at
the pleasure of the
president
Only Congress can
create executive
departments
Secretaries are
appointed by the
President &
confirmed by the
Senate
Student Handout
President Washington and the First Cabinet
Alexander
Hamilton
Henry
Knox
Thomas
Jefferson
George
Washington
Edmund
Randolph
1. President George Washington established a precedent in the formation of the first cabinet.
Why do you think President Washington decided to form a cabinet of advisors?
2. Match each secretary with his correct position in the first cabinet.
Alexander Hamilton
Attorney General
Thomas Jefferson
Secretary of State
Henry Knox
Secretary of the Treasury
Edmund Randolph
Secretary of War
Teacher Key
President Washington and the First Cabinet
1. President George Washington established a precedent in the formation of the first cabinet. Why do you think
President Washington decided to form a cabinet of advisors?
 Washington knew the job of President was much too large for a single person to be an expert.
 Washington not the greatest thinker of his generation, but as a pragmatist surrounded himself with very
bright men to advise him.
 Wanted advisors who were willing to disagree with each other, and provide Washington with diverse points
of view. Example: Hamilton and Jefferson were political enemies and represented the coming of the twoparty system (Federalists v. Democratic Republicans).
 Washington wanted to surround himself with advisors who were personally loyal to him and to the ideals of
the American Revolution (all four played a key role in the events leading up to, and/or the American
Revolution itself).
2. Match each secretary with his correct position in the first cabinet.
Alexander Hamilton
Attorney General
Thomas Jefferson
Secretary of State
Henry Knox
Secretary of the Treasury
Edmund Randolph
Secretary of War
Student Handout
Cabinet
Departments
Directions – Your task is to research the 15 cabinet departments below and include the following information in the table below: 1)
identify the year created, 2) identify the current cabinet secretary, and 3) briefly describe the major function or responsibility of each
department. The websites below are excellent resources:
http://www.usa.gov/Agencies/Federal/All_Agencies/index.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Cabinet
http://www.whitehouse.gov/our_government/executive_branch/#cabinet
Department/
Year Created
Agriculture
Year ______
Commerce
Year ______
Defense
Year ______
Education
Year ______
Energy
Year ______
Health &
Human Services
Year ______
Homeland Security
Year ______
Current
Cabinet
Secretary
Major Functions/Responsibilities
Department/
Year Created
Housing & Urban
Development
Year ______
Interior
Year ______
Justice
Year ______
Labor
Year ______
State
Year ______
Transportation
Year ______
Treasury
Year ______
Veterans Affairs
Year ______
Current
Cabinet
Secretary
Major Functions/Responsibilities
Teacher Key
Cabinet
Departments
Directions – Your task is to research the 15 cabinet departments below and include the following information in the table below: 1)
identify the year created, 2) identify the current cabinet secretary, and 3) briefly describe the major function or responsibility of each
department. The websites below are excellent resources:
http://www.usa.gov/Agencies/Federal/All_Agencies/index.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Cabinet
http://www.whitehouse.gov/our_government/executive_branch/#cabinet
Department/
Year Created
Current
Cabinet
Secretary
Agriculture
Tom Vilsack
Oversees national forests & conservation efforts, responsible for safety of meat,
poultry, and egg products, and attempts to provide open foreign markets for
American agricultural products.
John Bryson
“to foster, serve, and promote the Nation’s economic development and
technological development.”
Leon Panetta
Manages the nation’s military and headquartered at the Pentagon.
Arne Duncan
Manages federal student aid programs, monitors academic performance
nationwide, and administers federal education legislation like No Child Left
Behind Act.
1889
Commerce
1903
Defense
1947
Education
1979
Energy
1977
Health &
Human Services
Steven Chu
Kathleen
Sebelius
1953
Homeland Security
2002
Janet Napolitano
Major Functions/Responsibilities
Manages the nation’s nuclear weapons and energy, develops energy policies, and
conducts energy research.
Conducts health research, manages efforts to prevent disease, manages Medicare
and Medicaid, and pursues efforts to remedy societal ills like drug abuse and child
abuse.
Oversees a wide range of federal agencies to help them coordinate plans to
confront national emergencies and threats to national security.
Department/
Year Created
Housing & Urban
Development
Current
Cabinet
Secretary
Shaun Donovan
1965
Interior
Major Functions/Responsibilities
Strives to increase domestic homeownership and improve access to affordable
housing free of discrimination.
Ken Salazar
Manages conservation efforts, national parks, and environmental protection.
1870
Eric Holder
Attorney General
Enforces federal laws by taking offenders to court, investigates and detains
offenders through the FBI.
Labor
Hilda Solis
1849
Justice
1913
State
1789
Transportation
1966
Treasury
1789
Veterans Affairs
1988
Hilary Clinton
Looks out for “job seekers, wage earners, and retirees” by administering federal
labor laws and providing services like connecting potential employers to
unemployed workers.
Chief engine of American diplomacy in executive branch, also manages American
travel overseas.
Ray LaHood
Manages national transportation infrastructure like highways, air traffic, and
railways.
Tim Geithner
Manages federal finances, collects taxes, produces stamps, and provides
government advice on matters of economic policy.
Eric Shinseki
Provides for the healthcare, benefits, and memorial service needs of veterans.
THE U.S. CONSTITUTION
AND PRESIDENTIAL APPOINMENTS
In the US Constitution, Article II describes the executive and
appointment powers of the President:
The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United
States of America.
….he may 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
….he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate,
shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls… and all other
Officers of the United States….
Questions for Discussion:
1. Identify the Constitutional requirements for appointing federal
government officials.
2. How do these requirements promote checks and balances of the
three branches of the federal government?
Student Handout
Step 1-A
Step 1
Step 1-B
Step 1-C
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Step 1-D
Teacher Key
WHITE HOUSE
REVIEW
FINANCIAL
DISCLOSURE
FORMS
PRESIDENT
Appoints Nominee
SENATE
CONFIRMATION
HEARINGS
FULL SENATE VOTE
PRESIDENT’S
CABINET
FBI
Investigation
INTEREST
GROUP
Influence
Student Handout
The Cabinet in the United States
The American cabinet has almost nothing in common with the British. Its members may not hold seats in
Congress, and it exercises no collegial responsibility. It is not mentioned in the Constitution, which refers
only to the heads of the executive departments; the framers of the Constitution apparently intended that
the Senate serve as the president's advisory body. However, Congress, beginning in 1789, has created
executive departments (15 by the early 2000s), the heads of which have by custom served as an advisory
council to the president. A considerable number of administrative functions are performed outside of the
regular departments, and some presidents occasionally include some of these agency heads in the cabinet
as well. The cabinet meets regularly (usually weekly) at times determined by the president and considers
such matters as he wants discussed. Votes are seldom taken. Though many presidents have given the
secretaries wide discretion in running their own departments, only rarely has the cabinet itself served as a
real decision-making body.
The president does not have complete discretion in appointing cabinet members. His campaign or other
obligations, the claims of important factional leaders, the need for geographical distribution, the
appointee's acceptability to the Senate which must approve cabinet appointments, as well as to major
interest groups; all these factors help produce a cabinet whose members are political figures in their own
right, with little coherence and no sense of mutual obligation. Because each derives his or her authority
from the president, the members often prefer to work with him directly in planning policy, with the result
that only lesser matters are dealt with in cabinet meetings.
Members in effect become rivals for the president's favor, for congressional appropriations, and for
political power. Some become so closely identified with their special clienteles, such as commerce,
agriculture, or labor, that they are considered the virtual captives of major interest groups. This
fragmentation means that the cabinet cannot view government problems and policies from the president's
broad perspective and leaves him still in need of advisers and aides who can share his viewpoints and
interests.
It is this need that has led most presidents to rely on an informal group of private advisers (Jackson's
"kitchen cabinet" is a notable example), who serve him directly without any continuing personal
connection with the government. It is this need also that led to the establishment of the White House
Office and the Executive Office of the President.
Essentially the American cabinet is a body of administrators rather than an advisory council. It is quite
consistent with the pluralist character of American democracy, and it stands in sharp contrast to the
system of cabinet government described above.
Source: William S. Livingston, University of Texas, Grolier Online Encyclopedia
Factors That Influence
Presidential Appointments
 Party affiliation (usually 80% or higher,
depending on President)
 Political ideology
 The president’s policy agenda
 Background of the nominee: professional experience,
expertise, education, family, etc.
 Political favors – rewarding personal or political friends
 Fulfill campaign promises
 Feedback from important party leaders
 Interest group input
 Securing a “safe” nominee acceptable to the Senate
 Press coverage of nominee: positive or negative
Student Handout
Role Play: Choosing a Cabinet Secretary –
What Presidents Consider When Making Appointments
1. Read the short article The Cabinet in the United States. With your partner address the following
questions:
a. According to this article, when a president considers potential cabinet appointee, what
outside factors must he/she keep in mind?
b. Identify several potential problems if the president chooses the wrong person for a cabinet
position.
2. Work with a partner and take on the roles of President and White House Chief of Staff. Write
down the political party and ideology of the President.
3. Brainstorm a list of qualities or characteristics the President and Chief of Staff think is important
when considering a potential cabinet or agency nominee. Provide rational for each choice.
Record your responses on poster paper.
4. Share your list with the rest of the class. Compared to the Factors That Influence Presidential
Appointments overhead, discuss the similarities and differences you have with that list.
Student Handout
Help Wanted Advertisement:
Cabinet Secretary
Directions: Your team must create a Help Wanted advertisement for the
position for one of the following positions:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Secretary of State
Secretary of Defense
Secretary of the Treasury
Attorney General (Justice)
Secretary of Commerce
The ad must include the following information:
1. Job Title – formal title
2. Job Responsibilities – what role, expectations, and responsibilities
does the job entail; may consult Article II of the Constitution, etc.
3. Necessary Skills – what talents, experience, expertise, etc. is needed
to be successful in the position
4. Qualifications –Consider the U.S. Constitution, Presidential Line of
Succession.
5. Benefits – salary, fringe benefits, perks of the job
Resources:
 Factors That Influence Presidential Appointments notes – make sure you
take into consideration the President’s priorities, party, and political
ideology
 The U.S. Constitution - http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html
 The Presidential Line of Succession http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_succ.html
 Salaries of the President and His Cabinet http://dcjobsource.com/presidentialsalaries.html
 Government Employee Benefits - http://usgovinfo.about.com/blbenefits.htm
Help Wanted Advertisement:
Cabinet Secretary
Student Handout
Job Title:
Help Wanted Ad: Cabinet Secretary
Resources
Student Handout
#1 - Cabinet Secretary Qualifications
The qualifications for the President's Cabinet are never explicitly defined in the U.S. Constitution (or anywhere
else), though we can deduce from the Constitution that a Cabinet member may not concurrently hold another public
office, such as representative, senator, or governor. (This is not really a "qualification," as it simply requires the
appointee to resign from her other office before taking the Cabinet position.) Essentially, the President is free to
choose whomever he wants, subject to simple majority approval by the Senate. (Also, as of 1967, the President may
not appoint family members to his Cabinet.)
If we're concerned about Cabinet members being qualified to be in the "line of succession," the only rigid
requirements for the office of President (and Vice President) are:




Be a native-born U.S. citizen.
Be at least 35 years old.
Have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years (not necessarily consecutively).
A cabinet appointee cannot have already reached the term limit as President.)
Generally, Cabinet appointees will conform with these requirements, but it's not always the case. For example,
former Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez was born in Cuba, and former Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao was
born in Taiwan. Since they don't meet the presidential requirements, they are not included in the "line of
succession" to President — they're simply skipped over — but they would be pretty far down in the pecking order
anyway.
Source: yahoo.rogers.com
#2 - Presidential Succession Act of 1947
To ensure that in the event that a vacancy in the offices of both President and the Vice-president, or that neither is
able to “discharge the powers and duties of the office, Congress established the Presidential Succession Act.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
Vice President
Speaker of the House
President Pro Tempore of the Senate
Secretary of State
Secretary of the Treasury
Secretary of Defense
Attorney General (Dept. of Justice)
Secretary of the Interior
Secretary of Agriculture
Secretary of Commerce
Secretary of Labor
Secretary of Health and Human Services
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Secretary of Transportation
Secretary of Energy
Secretary of Education
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Secretary of Homeland Security
Source: wikipedia.org
#3 – Government Employee Benefits
Working for the Federal Government – Benefits Federal government employees enjoy a wide range of
"family-friendly" benefits that go far beyond insurance and retirement. Each agency is free to offer its own benefits
package. The following is a sample of the benefits available to permanent Federal employee.

Federal Employees Retirement System: Benefits based on amount of service and salary history.

Federal Employees Health Benefits Program: No waiting periods, required medical exam, or
age/physical condition restrictions.

Federal Employees Group Life Insurance: Group term life insurance - Basic life insurance and three
options (Standard, Additional, and Family).

Leave and Holidays: 13 days sick leave each year; 13, 20, or 26 days of vacation leave each year,
depending on years of service; 10 days paid holiday each year.

Recruitment Bonus: Lump-sum bonus to newly appointed employees for difficult-to-fill positions. Up to
25% of basic pay may be paid prior to employee entering on duty. Service agreement with repayment plan
if service time not fulfilled.

Relocation Bonus: Lump-sum bonus for difficult-to-fill position in a different commuting area; up to 25%
of basic pay. Service agreement with repayment plan if service time not fulfilled.

Long Term Care Insurance Program: John Hancock and MetLife formed Long Term Care Partners, a
jointly owned new company exclusively dedicated to serving the long term care insurance needs of the
Federal Family

Family Friendly Flexibilities:
Flexible Work Schedules; Telecommuting; Family Friendly Leave Policies; Employee Assistance Program
(EAP); Part-Time & Job Sharing Positions; Child & Elder Care Resources Adoption
Information/Incentives; Child Support Services.
Other arrangements:
Nursing Mothers Program;
On-site/near-site Day Care;
Day Care Tuition Assistance;
Child care/Elder care support groups
.
Source: http://usgovinfo.about.com/blbenefits.htm
Artist: John Cole, Scranton, PA, The Times
Date: 3/4/09
Source: http://www.cagle.com/news/Geithner/1.asp
1. Describe the context of the political cartoon (Who? What? When? Where?)
2. Identify and discuss the cartoonist message. What bias(ses) can you detect?
3. Do you agree or disagree with the cartoonist's message? Explain your answer.
4. Explain how the cartoon relates to the process and politics of presidential appointments.
Artist: Jim McCloskey, Staunton, Virginia, The News Leader
Date: 3/5/09
Source http://www.cagle.com/news/DaschleDropsOut/2.asp
1. Describe the context of the political cartoon (Who? What? When? Where?)
2. Identify and discuss the cartoonist message. What bias(ses) can you detect?
3. Do you agree or disagree with the cartoonist's message? Explain your answer.
4. Explain how the cartoon relates to the process and politics of presidential appointments.
Artist: Mike Keefe, The Denver Post
Date: 11/19/08
Source: http://www.cagle.com/
1. Describe the context of the political cartoon (Who? What? When? Where?)
2. Identify and discuss the cartoonist message. What bias(ses) can you detect?
3. Do you agree or disagree with the cartoonist's message? Explain your answer.
4. Explain how the cartoon relates to the process and politics of presidential appointments.
Student Handout
The Politics of Presidential Appointments
Jigsaw Activity
Directions: The four articles below highlight the ways in which politics influences the presidential appointment process
for members of the cabinet. You will first be assigned to a group. Then you will meet in small groups (your “expert
group”) with other people who were given the same article and discuss it, using the guided questions provided. The
purpose of this meeting is to become an expert on your particular article.
Group 1: Obama Faces Political Minefield With Appointments
Group 2: Liberal Democrats on Obama’s Cabinet Appointments
Group 3: The Shine Comes Off: Another Setback for Barack Obama
Group 4: Appointments and Disappointments: Sizing Up Obama’s New Cabinet
The second part of the activity involves peer-teaching. You will be put into different small groups (your “teaching
group”) with people who had a different article than you. Your job is to explain to your “teaching group” the
highlights of your article, using the questions you discussed with your “expert group” as a guide. Each member of the
teaching group will explain their particular selection in turn. Finally, once everyone in your teaching group has shared
their material, you will all discuss the last three overarching questions.
Round 1:
“Expert Group” Discussion Questions
1. Identify the author’s thesis (main idea) in the article.
2. What biases can you detect in the writing? [be sure to start with ideology and provide evidence].
3. What does the article reveal about the influence of politics in the presidential appointment process? Provide
specific examples from the article to support your generalizations.
The Politics of Presidential Appointments
Jigsaw Activity-2
Round 2:
“Teaching Group”
Over-Arching Questions – begin by briefly sharing the central idea of
each article.
1. What challenges or pit falls did President Obama face in getting his cabinet appointment process?
2. What has been the response of conservative Republicans to Obama’s cabinet choices?
3. What has been the response of liberal democrats to Obama’s cabinet choices?
4. Based upon insights you gleaned from the four articles, discuss several generalizations about the cabinet
confirmation process.
Obama Faces Political Minefield With Appointments
by Jonathan Weisman
The Wall Street Journal
November 15, 2008
Article 1
President-elect Barack Obama has set ambitious goals for assembling his government, vowing to name appointees
at a record pace while balancing pledges of post-partisanship with the needs of the groups that helped deliver his
victory.
So far, the process is going smoothly, thanks in part to remarkable cooperation from a Bush White House that Mr.
Obama spent two years bashing. But the politics remain thorny. The intricate scheming and speculating surrounding
cabinet choices was on full display Friday, a day after Mr. Obama met in Chicago with one-time rival Hillary
Rodham Clinton. Some top Obama advisors are pushing her for secretary of state. Neither side would discuss the
details of the conversation.
Amid two wars and an economic crisis, Mr. Obama must cement support in Red States he flipped and Blue States
he struggled in, placate liberal activists and minority groups whose electoral boost was crucial, and form a
government that looks like the change he promised.
"Obama has the most complicated calculus for selecting a cabinet of any recent president," said Paul Light, a
public-policy professor at New York University and longtime adviser on presidential transitions.
A little more than a week after his election victory, Mr. Obama's team is further along than outward appearance
might suggest, said Clay Johnson, a deputy White House budget director who was executive director of President
George W. Bush's 2000-2001 transition and is helping Mr. Obama's. Mr. Bush and President Ronald Reagan set a
record of 25 cabinet and subcabinet posts filled by April 1 of their first years in office. The Obama team is aiming
for 100 to 150 by that date.
To help get them there, the Bush team has worked with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to expand its capacity
to do background checks. In 2001, it took an average of 60 days to get a nominee's name to the Senate after
presidential approval. The Obama team, with White House assistance, is aiming for a maximum of 30 days.
"There will be three times to four times more personnel decisions in the opening weeks of this transition than any
president-elect has ever faced," Mr. Johnson said.
More than 300 cabinet secretaries, deputies and assistant secretaries and more than 2,500 political appointees will
be picked. About 144,000 applications came in through the Obama transition team's change.gov Web site within
five days of its creation.
All incoming presidents face a tricky balancing act as they build their government. But Mr. Obama's task is
especially tough, in part because he was politically adept at appealing to partisan Democrats and centrists alike. If
he keeps Republican Robert Gates as secretary of defense, for instance, he will likely have to placate angry liberals
with a more left-leaning secretary of state. Sen. Clinton, of New York, could be a crowd pleaser in that role, and
she has staunch advocates in Rahm Emanuel, the new chief of staff, and transition director John Podesta, according
to Democrats familiar with the transition process.
But Mr. Obama risks alienating Latino supporters if he passes over New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, currently
the favorite of a lobbying campaign by Hispanic activists, for the State Department job.
"It leads you into a downward spiral that ends up pleasing nobody," said Leon Panetta, a chief of staff in the
Clinton White House who witnessed just such a "circus" in President Clinton's transition of 1992-93.
Two other Bush appointees, Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell and Director of Central Intelligence
Michael Hayden, also would like to stay on in their jobs. But some Senate Democrats are pushing hard for their
removal, citing policy disagreements over warrantless surveillance and interrogation policies.
Even before a single name has emerged, Mr. Obama's would-be cabinet is under fire. The liberal Web site
Huffington Post is waging war on the idea of keeping Mr. Gates at the Pentagon.
Perhaps no potential nominee is taking more heat than Harvard University economist Lawrence Summers, a
potential pick as Treasury secretary. Mr. Summers served in that post for President Clinton and has moved to a
position of prominence in Mr. Obama's economic team. Women's groups are particularly distressed about his
possible appointment, recalling comments he made as Harvard president that innate characteristics may prevent
women from achieving more prominence in science.
"The American electorate has changed the course of history by demonstrating that an African-American can do
anything. We hope that the messages of the Obama presidency will be broader than that -- that any American can
do anything. That includes women," said an anti-Summers broadside from the Rosalind Franklin Society, an honors
group for women in biosciences.
Labor groups and liberal economists are suspicious of Mr. Summers's free-market principles, which helped guide a
deregulation of the financial-services industry at the end of the Clinton era.
"It would be a really bad start to his administration if President Obama picked a Treasury secretary who shares a
substantial part of the blame for the bubble economy and the financial crisis," liberal economist Dean Baker
recently wrote.
But Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, took a swipe at Mr. Summers's chief rival
for the post, New York Federal Reserve Bank President Timothy Geithner, who, he made clear, is an unknown
quantity to labor.
"I always worry about somebody who has spent his whole life at the Federal Reserve," Mr. Stern said, plugging a
new name for consideration, New Jersey governor and former Goldman Sachs chairman Jon Corzine.
Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122669636685629301.html
Liberal Democrats on Obama’s Cabinet Appointments
by Karen Harper
www.examiner.com
Article 2
December 3, 2008
Since November 24th when President-elect Barack Obama began announcing nominees for cabinet positions, the
main stream media has pondered the notion that "left-wing" Democrats might not be happy because Obama hasn't
surrounded himself with liberal Democrats.
When Obama held a press conference announcing his choices of Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State, Eric Holder,
Jr., as Attorney General, Robert Gates as Defense Secretary, and Jim Jones as national security adviser, political
reporters on all of the major news networks pondered the reaction of liberal Democrats to some of the centrist
appointments. Robert Gates has been Defense Secretary under President Bush. Hillary Clinton is considered to be
more moderate than Obama, and Jim Jones supported John McCain in the Presidential election.
On MSNBC, David Shuster quoted a web poll that appeared on liberal blog site, DailyKos saying that it "shows
about a third of the respondents think Obama is making excellent choices, 38% are cautiously optimistic, but 16%
say Obama is crazy like a fox....and 5% vote for 'what a sellout, the cabinet should be loaded with progressives."
Shuster then went on to posit that this was evidence that the left is "worried about the direction of Obama's foreign
policy."
According to the unscientific web poll, 5% of liberal Democrats are unhappy with Obama's choices and somehow,
Shuster was able to construe this tiny fraction to mean that the left is dissatisfied with Obama's foreign policy.
David Shuster's comments are typical of the many reporters on CNN, MSNBC and other major networks who,
despite evidence to the contrary, think that liberal Democrats are unhappy that President-elect Obama is building a
cabinet best suited to address the concerns the United States is facing. Reporters ask over and over if this is the
"change we can believe in." The answer is an unequivocal yes. The change is that we have a president who is
willing to set aside politics in order to build a strong team of supporters.
President-elect Obama wants to "hit the ground running". He is making preparations to take over the country after
8 years of one of the worst administrations in U.S. history. Obama has set aside 'politics as usual' in order to build a
cabinet that will be ready to address the economic crisis, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, growing threats of
terrorism, and the health care crisis from his first day in office.
Democrats understand this. Moderate Republicans understand this. Independent voters understand it too. Why
doesn't the mainstream media understand it? Obama's creation of a bipartisan cabinet is change. It is change that
signals that unilateral partisanship is over. It is change that is not based on ideology but change that is designed to
save our country from the downward spiral President Bush put us in. Liberals, moderates and rational, thoughtful
people are confident that President-elect Obama is choosing the best people to address our most pressing concerns.
That is change we can believe in.
Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-1172-Birmingham-Progressive-Politics-Examiner~y2008m12d3-LiberalDemocrats-on-Obamas-Cabinet-Appointments
Article 3
The Shine Comes Off:
Another setback for Barack Obama, as Judd Gregg withdraws as commerce secretary
Economist.com
February 13, 2009
ANOTHER day, another blow for Barack Obama's hopes for a “new politics”. On Thursday February 12th, Senator
Judd Gregg of New Hampshire announced that he had withdrawn as Mr. Obama's proposed secretary of commerce.
Mr. Gregg is a Republican—and one, to boot, who once voted for the Commerce Department to be abolished.
Bringing him into the cabinet had been billed by the Obama team as an important sign of Mr. Obama's commitment
to government from the centre. Mr. Gregg would have been the third of Mr. Obama's “post-partisan” appointments:
his transport secretary, Ray LaHood is a Republican, and his defense secretary, Robert Gates, served in the same
job under George Bush (though he does not describe himself as a Republican).
Mr. Gregg's withdrawal is rather odd. He said that he was doing it because of political differences over the
president's mammoth stimulus package, worth some $789 billion over two years and likely to be passed on the
ominous date of Friday 13th. Yet when he agreed to take the job only ten days ago, it must surely have been clear to
him what the nature of the stimulus package was to be; the bill, after all, had been in discussion for months.
He also claims that the split had to do with a row over the taking of America's census next year—an undertaking of
vast political importance because it determines the allocation of congressional seats and electoral college votes to
the 50 states. It also determines where certain government funds are deployed. The census is overseen by the
Commerce Department, but the White House for the first time will have the final say over operational matters. It
may be that Mr. Gregg was surprised by this fact, though on the vital question, whether or not to use sampling to
estimate populations (this tends to favor the Democrats), the White House was always likely to have been in
control.
Mr. Gregg's departure may also be to do with his realization—astonishingly late in the day for a man who has been
in politics for 30 years—that despite Mr. Obama's talk of bipartisan government, it is politics as usual on Capitol
Hill. The first sign of this was the vote, on January 28th, for Mr. Obama's stimulus package in the House of
Representatives: it went through with not a single Republican supporter; and the bill later cleared the Senate with
only three Republicans in agreement. The House vote was almost a week before Mr. Gregg said yes to the
president, but perhaps it took the senator a while to grasp the implication of it.
Mr. Gregg must have come under considerable pressure from his Republican colleagues not to join the cabinet—
especially because, by leaving the Senate, he gave the governor of New Hampshire, a Democrat, the chance to
nominate a new senator to serve for the next two years. True, the governor had agreed to appoint a Republican. But
by choosing a reliably moderate Republican (which Mr. Gregg is not), he would have probably have been able to
secure a vital extra Senate vote for Mr. Obama on crucial issues. (There are only a few East Coast Republican
senators left; but they know that their states voted strongly for Mr. Obama in the presidential race, and they fear
being tossed out by their voters if they are seen to be frustrating him.)
None of this should really be surprising. The Republicans are in opposition, so of course they are not inclined to
help the president when he wants to do things that they oppose, such as spending hundreds of billions of dollars of
taxpayers' cash on projects that they think are not good value for money. The Democrats have a solid majority in
the House and, thanks to a few Republican renegades who fear for their political lives, a working majority in the
Senate; one that is big enough to make it extremely hard for the Republicans to block legislation by use of the
filibuster. The dream of bipartisanship, in other words, was always just that. The simple truth is that there are big
ideological differences between the two parties, and no amount of sweet-talking can conceal that.
The bigger blow to Mr. Obama comes not so much from the failure of a project that was never, given the nature of
politics, really viable. It is that the latest episode contributes to a surprising picture of incompetence that is building
up around his presidency. This is the third of his cabinet nominations to go down in flames, and he has also lost the
woman whom he had hoped to appoint to the job of chief performance officer to the government. He should
additionally count himself extremely lucky that he did not lose his treasury secretary, Tim Geithner, who failed to
pay some of his taxes and who would surely not make it through to confirmation if he had to do now rather in the
first post-inauguration flush.
Mr. Geithner has proved a disappointment in other ways, almost igniting a trade row with China with a thoughtless
statement, and producing on February 10th a bank bailout package of such vapid generality that it sent the markets
into a tailspin. Mr. Geithner needs to raise his game. And so does Mr. Obama.
Source: http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13129970
Appointments and Disappointments:
Sizing Up Obama’s New Cabinet
by Jack Rothman
www.huffingtonpost.com
Article 4
December 9, 2008
Progressives are in a state over Obama's cabinet appointments. Cries of "betrayal," "sellout," and "Clintonian
copycat" fill the air. Steve Hildebrand, Obama's deputy campaign manager, just found it necessary to speak out
urgently in the Huff Press to defend the cabinet appointments against progressive critics. I agree with him that we
should calm down. I'm convinced we will have to wait awhile to see how this plays out.
I start with the understanding that Obama is a remarkably smart, principled, and capable person with a durable
commitment to the poor and dispossessed. He grew up in a common American family that didn't hold wealth and
had no connections to people of power and influence. After gaining a peak university education, through
affirmative action aid, he chose to settle in an African-American community in Chicago and to do grassroots
community organizing and civil rights law to improve the chances of people living at the edge.
There is no reason to believe he will dump these lifelong influences to instead indulge the rich and privileged, now
that he holds enormous political power. I suspect that he will lean in the direction of using that power to advance
the causes that have been so much a part of him. But he will do it in his own way, which doesn't fit anybody's mold.
Some observers believe that the appointments are a strategic ploy, a smokescreen for co-opting middle and right
elements. His aim is to "feint to the right, move left." The cover of centrist appointments, making Obama seem to
be a man of the middle, will allow him to head leftward without rousing as much heated opposition. So they say.
Obama doesn't appear to be that consummate a tactical trickster, but something along those lines was probably
afoot.
Community Building vs. Social Advocacy
Obama has always spoken of two-pronged political aims. One part of him wants to enhance the workings of our
government, to make it more rational, civil, effective, and non-partisan--bringing the country together. The cabinet
appointments jibe with that intent. The other part wants to craft policies that better serve those who have been
getting a raw deal. That means fixing health care, upgrading education for all, and getting the rich to pay a fairer
share of their taxes. Community organizers call these two aims "community building" and "social advocacy."
Obama seems dedicated to both, but to do the community building piece means moderating the advocacy bit. You
can't slam through liberal policies and at the same time cajole lawmakers more to the right into taking cooperative
approach. It's a balancing act, but I feel that Obama has an idea in his head about how to fuse these usually
opposing goals. I can't discern how he intends to do that. But I think his mind has a hold on it and I am willing to
give him a chance at it.
Liberal vs. Centrist
When you look at Obama's policy profile, you don't get anything near high-density clarity on his position on the
political spectrum. He has a strong record in supporting both liberal and centrist principles. On the liberal side,
consider the areas of global warming, infrastructure investment for job creation, education opportunity, and health
insurance. He also favors thoughtful diplomatic engagement with hostile nations, immigration reform, "spread the
wealth" taxation, bailing out foreclosure victims, and so on. The Republicans labeled him "the most liberal senator"
during the election campaign.
His centrist positions include forgoing torture prosecutions, straddling pro-choice/pro-life abortion positions,
opposing strong gun control laws, and absolving telecommunications companies that spied on citizens. He backs
merit pay for teachers and will excuse oil companies from having to pay taxes on windfall profits -- while also
allowing a turncoat like Lieberman to resume full Senate privileges. And don't forget picking a cabinet full of
Clinton and Bush holdovers.
So, who is the real Obama: a liberal/left politico or someone holding the middle ground? I take it that Obama relies
more on reason than stiff ideology in shaping his thinking. How else to explain his apparent comfort teaching
constitutional law at the University of Chicago? My impression is that he goes with the flow of data and analysis in
decision-making and doesn't have a predictable end position. He's a humanistic pragmatist who can touch ground in
various places. That's what comes across in his books.
Where it All Comes Down
We don't know in the specifics how Obama will bring things together in the community building vs. social
advocacy dimension or in the left vs. center policy dimension. It's a pretty wide-open landscape. My guess is that
we need to average Obama's spread across the center-left range of the political spectrum and assume that he will
form a somewhat left of center government. I think, though, that it will be a government as far left as is possible for
any administration to be within the reality of contemporary American politics. (I prefer the policies of Kucinich,
but we saw how may votes he managed to get.) Obama's evident authority and integrity will keep those competent
but centrist appointees in the cabinet in line with his policy decisions. Pressure from his millions of organized
followers will add to this.
It will be a government that is effective and skillful in enacting intended policies and programs. The makeup of the
cabinet gives Obama a leg up on this. It will also be a government that creates a progressive-leaning policy frame
without the extreme bitterness and partisan acrimony that we have seen over these last many decades. The cast in
the new cabinet will be aid this. These are my expectations and hopes for the new regime -- hopes rooted in
evidence and reasonable conjectures.
For sure, foreign policy will be more centrist and constrained, in keeping with the bi-partisan, empire-building
thrust of all American administrations in memory -- Democratic and Republican. Obama and his emerging cabinet
are hardly likely to promote fundamental change in the American Empire's broad global reach. On the other hand,
under his leadership his cabinet team will be an instrument for bringing about considerable change on the domestic
scene.
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jack-rothman/appointments-and-disappoi_b_149671.html