The Presidentâs Cabinet: Evolution, Alternatives, and Proposals for Change (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Sept. 12, 2000 |
| Report Number |
RL30673 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Ronald C. Moe, Government and Finance Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
The President's Cabinet is an institution whose existence rests upon custom rather than law.
President George Washington found the Cabinet concept, a meeting of departmental secretaries, to
be useful, and all subsequent Presidents have followed this precedent. Presidents have differed in
their opinions as to the utility of the Cabinet, but all have found some political and administrative
strengths in its continuance.
This report discusses how membership in the Cabinet has changed over the decades. The
selection and removal processes are examined as well as commentary on the Cabinet by persons who
have been participants.
In this century, a whole host of sub-Cabinet groups have been created as substitutes for full
Cabinet sessions. The authority and configuration of these sub-Cabinet groups ( e.g.,
Council on
Economic Policy) vary from administration to administration and few institutions and sets of
relationships have acquired permanent status. A number of sub-Cabinet groups have staffs
( e.g.,
National Security Council), and it is these staffs that help provide some measure of institutional
depth to the presidency.
Despite two centuries of criticism, the Cabinet remains a fixture in the President's political
world. This report reviews criticisms directed at the Cabinet, and the "reforms" offered to correct
alleged deficiencies, and provides an assessment of the utility of the Cabinet to successive
Presidents. The Cabinet is retained because it provides to the President: (1) political and managerial
advice; (2) a forum for interdepartmental conflict resolution; (3) a location where he can address
most of the executive branch and thereby enhance administrative coherence; and (4) a source of
political support for his programs and policies.
This report concludes with several observations on the nature of the Cabinet. The Cabinet is
not now, and is not likely to become, a body with collective responsibility. Presidents cannot
appropriately share their legal authority or responsibilities with the Cabinet. Thus, there are inherent
limitations to the Cabinet that no reforms can alter or overcome. The Cabinet, its members, and its
sub-groups provide the President with an adaptive resource with which to manage the executive
branch of government.
