The Cabinet is an advisory body composed of the heads of the 15 executive departments. Appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, Cabinet members are often the President`s closest confidants. In addition to leading major federal agencies, they play an important role in the succession of the president to the throne – after the vice president, the speaker of the House of Representatives, and the acting president of the Senate, the line of succession continues with the cabinet offices in the order in which the departments were created. All members of cabinet bear the title of secretary, with the exception of the head of the Department of Justice, who is called the Attorney General. The Department of Veterans Affairs is responsible for the administration of merit programs for Veterans, their families and survivors. These benefits include pension, education, disability compensation, home loans, life insurance, vocational rehabilitation, survivor support, medical care and funeral services. Veterans Affairs became a Cabinet-level department in 1989. The executive enforces and enforces the laws. It includes the President, Vice-President, Cabinet, executive departments, independent bodies and other boards, commissions and committees. They are the most important organizations in the federal government. The heads of these 15 agencies are also members of the President`s Office.

Cabinet and independent federal agencies are responsible for the day-to-day administration and administration of federal laws. These departments and agencies have roles and responsibilities as diverse as those of the Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency, the Social Security Administration, and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The U.S. Constitution divides the federal government into three branches to ensure that no person or group has too much power: Under Article II of the Constitution, the president is responsible for enforcing and enforcing laws created by Congress. Fifteen executive departments – each headed by an appointed member of the Office of the President – are responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Federal Government. Added to this are other executive agencies such as the CIA and the Environmental Protection Agency, whose heads are not part of the cabinet but are under the full authority of the president. The president also appoints the heads of more than 50 independent federal commissions such as the Federal Reserve Board or the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as federal judges, ambassadors, and other federal offices. The President`s Executive Office (EOP) consists of the President`s immediate staff, as well as institutions such as the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of the U.S.

Trade Representative. The DOD is the largest government agency with more than 1.4 million men and women on active duty, more than 700,000 civilians, and 1.1 million citizens serving in the National Guard and Reserve Forces. Together, the DOD`s military and civilian weapons protect national interests through war, humanitarian assistance, and the conduct of peacekeeping and disaster relief services. The department administers federal funding for higher education, oversees educational programs and civil rights laws that promote equity in student learning opportunities, collects data and sponsors research on U.S. schools to guide improvements in the quality of education, and works to complement the efforts of state and local governments. parents and students. Heads of executive departments and most other senior federal officials at the cabinet or sub-cabinet level receive their salaries under a fixed five-level salary schedule known as the Executive Schedule, which is codified in Title 5 of the United States Code. Twenty-one positions, including heads of executive departments and others who receive Grade I salaries, are listed in 5 U.S.C. Section 5312 and these forty-six Level II positions (including the two number two positions in the Executive Divisions) are listed in 5 U.S.C. § 5313. As of January 2021 [Update], the annual Level I salary was set at $221,400. [7] The presidents used the cabinet meetings of some senior officials, but to very different degrees and for different purposes.

During President Abraham Lincoln`s tenure, Secretary of State William H. Seward advocated the use of parliamentary government. Lincoln, however, rejected Seward. Although Professor Woodrow Wilson also advocated the creation of a parliamentary cabinet, he did not implement it in his government after his appointment as president. In recent administrations, cabinets have expanded to include department heads and various agencies, as well as key White House staff. President Ronald Reagan formed seven sub-cabinet councils to consider many political issues, and subsequent presidents followed this practice. [3] These agencies are not represented in cabinet and do not belong to the President`s Executive Office.