The Politics of the US Cabinet

"The best way to understand how this institution works is to study individual administrations. But it’s also helpful to have an overview of how the appointment process works and how the Cabinet evolved over time. If you’re looking to get a sense of how the institution has evolved, The Politics of the U.S. Cabinet is the right resource. The cabinet is constantly evolving. The heads of all the departments created by acts of Congress are included. There are currently 15 department heads. The Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of the Interior are among the department heads whose appointment requires congressional Senate approval and who are always included in the cabinet. There are also what are called ‘cabinet-level appointments.’ Those shift, depending on the president’s preferences. So sometimes the CIA director is a cabinet-level position, sometimes it’s not. Biden has removed that position from his cabinet, while President Trump included the CIA director. Presidents will also include certain envoys in their cabinets. Former Senator and former Secretary of State John Kerry currently serves as President Biden’s Climate Envoy, which the Biden Administration designates as a ‘cabinet-level’ position. But it does shift, depending on each president’s preferences and priorities."