Unit 7: Federal Bureaucracy
CHAPTER 10, SECTION 1 AND 8, SECTION 3
THE CABINET DEPARTMENTS AND THEIR
ROLE WITHIN BUREAUCRACY
I CAN:
1. Explain how the President selects his
Cabinet
2. Analyze the roles the cabinet plays within
the Bureaucracy
3. Evaluate factors limiting the Cabinet’s role
4. List and define each cabinet department
Essential Question
 What is the
purpose of the
Presidential
Cabinet?
 How has the
cabinet changed
over the years?
Cabinet Videos
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxSvi6JCCfk
Cabinet
 General term for the
advisers around any
head of state
 15 Executive
Department heads,
Vice-President, and
other top officials
 More than advisers;
also administrators of
bureaucracies
Cabinet Departments
 Serve as the major
service organization
for the federal
government
 Has broad powers and
responsibilities
 15 different executive
departmants with
different agendas and
duties
Question
 The cabinet has changed
dramatically since Washington was
first President. Why do you think
this has happened?
Answer:
The nation has grown and so has its
needs
Selection of Cabinet
 Must balance political,




social, and management
considerations.
Secretaries need
experience and expertise.
Appointments need to be
acceptable to Senate and
general public.
Provide geographic and
demographic balance.
Patronage and party
loyalty is important.
Obama’s Cabinet
Role of Cabinet
 As Individuals,
responsible for
administration of their
executive department
 As Group, serve as an
advisory board
 Depends on what each
president wants from
their cabinet
Influence of Cabinet
 Secretaries of State,
defense, treasury, and
Attorney General
make up “inner circle”
 Whitehouse will leak
(deliberately disclose)
some candidates to get
reaction from
Congress and public
Presidential Succession
Cabinet Video
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Cda-
u8acz8&feature=fvst
Essential Question
 What is the
purpose of the
Presidential
Cabinet?
 How has the
cabinet changed
over the years?
Department of
State
 Founded: 1789
 Overall foreign policy of
the United States
 Embassies- office of
ambassadors in foreign
countries
 Current Secretary: John
Kerry
Sec of State Videos
 http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2013/
02/01/exp-looking-back-at-clintons-time-atstate.cnn
 Look at Hilary Clinton as Sec of State
Department of
Defense
 Founded: 1789
(Department of War)
 Changed name in 1949
 Protects the nation’s
security
 Joint Chiefs of Staff
(Army, Navy, Marines,
and Air Force)
 Current Secretary:
Chuck Hagel
Department of
Treasury
 Founded: 1789
 Managing the
money of the US
 Ex: IRS, Bureau of
Mint, Bureau of
Public Debt
 Current Secretary:
Jack Lew
Department of
Justice
 Founded: 1870
 Attorney General
(1789)
 Oversee the nation’s
legal affairs
 Ex: FBI, DEA, US
Marshals
 Current Secretary:
Attorney General Eric
Holder
Department of
Interior
 Founded: 1849
 Protect public lands
and natural
resources
throughout the
nation
 Ex: Bureau of Mines
 Current Secretary:
Ken Salazar
Question
What Service, created by Teddy
Roosevelt, would be found in
the Department of Interior? (hint,
think of Old Faithful)
Department of
Agriculture
 Founded: 1862
 Help farmers
improve their
income and expand
their markets
 Ex: Food Safety and
Inspection Service
 Current Secretary:
Tom Vilsack
Department of
Commerce
 Founded: 1903
 Promote and protect the
industrial and
commercial segments of
the American economy
 Ex: Bureau of Census,
Patent and Trademark
Office, National Institute
of Standards and
Technology, NOAA
 Current Secretary:
Rebecca Blank (Acting)
Department of
Labor
 Founded: 1913
 Protects American
workers; safe working
conditions,
safeguards a
minimum wage, and
protects pension
rights
 Ex: Office of
American Workplace
 Current Secretary:
Seth Harris (Acting)
Housing and Urban
Development
 Founded: 1965
 Preserve the
nation’s
communities and
ensure equal housing
opportunities
 Ex: Government
National Mortgage
Association
 Current Secretary:
Shaun Donovan
Transportation
Department
 Founded: 1966
 Regulate all aspects of
transportation needs,
policy development,
and planning
 Federal Aviation,
Railroad, Highway,
and Transit
 Secretary: Ray Lahood
Energy Department
 Founded: 1977
 Plans energy
policy and
researches and
develops energy
technology
 Secretary:
Stephen Chu
Question
 What are some new research
methods that the Energy
Department is trying to work on to
help the world with their
environment problem?
Answer:
Clean Energy, such as Wind, Solar, Clean
Coal, Electric Cars
Health and Human
Services Department
 Founded: 1979
 Health and social
services needs of
people
 Medicare, Medicaid,
Social Security, FDA
 Secretary: Kathleen
Sebelius
Education
Department
 Founded: 1979
 Coordinate federal
assistance programs
for public and
private schools
 Education is an
essential feature of
democracy
 Secretary: Arne
Duncan
Veterans Affairs
Department
 Founded: 1989
 Administers several
hospitals,
educational, and
other programs
designed to benefit
veterans and families
 Secretary: Eric
Shinseki
Homeland Security
Department
 Founded: 2002
 Created after
September 11th to help
protect our nation,
analyzes information
from FBI and CIA
 Secretary: Janet
Napolitano