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The '''Cabinet of the United States''' is the principal official advisory body to the [[president of the United States]]. The Cabinet generally meets with the president in a room adjacent to the Oval Office in the West Wing of the White House. The president chairs the meetings but is not formally a member of the Cabinet. The [[vice president of the United States]] serves in the Cabinet by statute. The heads of departments, appointed by the president and confirmed by the [[United States Senate|Senate]], are members of the Cabinet, and acting department heads also participate in Cabinet meetings whether or not they have been officially nominated for Senate confirmation. The president may designate heads of other agencies and non-Senate-confirmed members of the [[Executive Office of the President of the United States|Executive Office of the President]] as members of the Cabinet. | |||
The '''Cabinet of the United States''' is the principal official advisory body to the [[president of the United States]]. The Cabinet generally meets with the president in | |||
The Cabinet does not have any collective executive powers or functions of its own, and no votes need to be taken. There are 26 members: the [[Vice President of the United States|vice president]], 15 department heads, and 10 Cabinet-level officials, all except two of whom require [[Advice and consent#United States|Senate confirmation]]. During Cabinet meetings, the members sit in the order in which their respective department was created, with the earliest being closest to the president and the newest farthest away.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cabinet Room—White House Museum|url=http://www.whitehousemuseum.org/west-wing/cabinet-room.htm|access-date=2021-03-17|website=www.whitehousemuseum.org}}</ref> | The Cabinet does not have any collective executive powers or functions of its own, and no votes need to be taken. There are 26 members: the [[Vice President of the United States|vice president]], 15 department heads, and 10 Cabinet-level officials, all except two of whom require [[Advice and consent#United States|Senate confirmation]]. During Cabinet meetings, the members sit in the order in which their respective department was created, with the earliest being closest to the president and the newest farthest away.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cabinet Room—White House Museum|url=http://www.whitehousemuseum.org/west-wing/cabinet-room.htm|access-date=2021-03-17|website=www.whitehousemuseum.org}}</ref> | ||
The members of the Cabinet whom the president appoints serve | The members of the Cabinet whom the president appoints serve at the pleasure of the president. The president can dismiss them from office at any time without the approval of the Senate or downgrade their Cabinet membership status (the [[vice president of the United States]] is elected not appointed and serves in the Cabinet by statute). Functionally, the president may give wide latitude to department heads and often it is legally possible for a Cabinet member to exercise certain powers over his or her own department against the president's wishes, but in practice this is highly unusual due to the threat of dismissal. The president also has the authority to organize the Cabinet, such as instituting committees. Like all federal public officials, Cabinet members are also subject to [[Federal impeachment in the United States|impeachment]] by the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] and trial in the [[United States Senate|Senate]] for "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors". | ||
The [[Constitution of the United States]] does not explicitly establish a Cabinet. The Cabinet's role is inferred from the language of the [[Article Two of the United States Constitution|Opinion Clause]] (Article{{spaces}}II, Section{{spaces}}2, Clause{{spaces}}1) of the Constitution for principal officers of departments to provide advice to the president. Additionally, the [[Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Twenty-fifth Amendment]] authorizes the vice president, together with a majority of the heads of the executive departments, to declare the president "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office". The heads of the executive departments are—if eligible—in the [[United States presidential line of succession|presidential line of succession]]. | The [[Constitution of the United States]] does not explicitly establish a Cabinet. The Cabinet's role is inferred from the language of the [[Article Two of the United States Constitution|Opinion Clause]] (Article{{spaces}}II, Section{{spaces}}2, Clause{{spaces}}1) of the Constitution for principal officers of departments to provide advice to the president. Additionally, the [[Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Twenty-fifth Amendment]] authorizes the vice president, together with a majority of the heads of the executive departments, to declare the president "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office". The heads of the executive departments are—if eligible—in the [[United States presidential line of succession|presidential line of succession]]. | ||