Theodore Rex

"This is one of several volumes by Edmund Morris on Theodore Roosevelt. Theodore Rex is probably the most detailed look at his presidency. It demonstrates the centrality of the cabinet to Roosevelt’s success in office. Not many presidential biographies focus on the cabinet. It tends to be an underappreciated aspect of presidential administration. Morris turns that tendency on its head. It’s hard not to enjoy reading about Roosevelt because he was such a colorful character. Morris brings that to life. For example, he describes how Roosevelt—who previously had been Assistant Secretary of the Navy and was very passionate about the role of the Navy in the United States’s emergence as a global superpower—just could not stop meddling with the work of his Secretary of the Navy. That drove several secretaries from office. In the 18th and 19th centuries the cabinet was seen as a stepping stone to the presidency. Especially the Secretary of State post, because that was the most prestigious spot. It was common for a president to appoint a natural successor to that position. Since the turn of the 20th century, that has been the case less frequently because of the professionalization of the departments. Now you typically see someone who has built a career in a particular field nominated as the secretary of the department in that field. When President Obama appointed Hillary Clinton as his Secretary of State, she presumably hoped that would set her up as his successor. But, as we know, Donald Trump won instead. Cabinet secretaries serve as messengers and defenders of policies, rather than the president himself. Often a president will appear publicly with a cabinet secretary to discuss a piece of legislation or a new policy pertaining to that secretary’s department. They might go to a department site, like a Veteran’s Administration hospital, to highlight an issue. Cabinet secretaries are rarely the subject of stories unless there is scandal or difficulty in their department. Photographs at the beginning of cabinet meetings are common, but these huge validator events were new. The 25th amendment provides that if the president is no longer cable of managing the responsibilities of the office, the cabinet and the vice president can request that the president be removed from office. That clause has never been invoked. But it has been discussed when prior presidents experienced acute health crises. So, when President Reagan was shot and in surgery, it was discussed. And, according to reports, there was serious discussion of invoking the 25th amendment after the January 6th insurrection."