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There are 26 members: the vice president, 15 department heads, and 10 Cabinet-level officials, all except two of whom require 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. [1]
United States presidents typically fill their Cabinets and other appointive positions with people from their own political party.The first Cabinet formed by the first president, George Washington, included some of Washington's political opponents, but later presidents adopted the practice of filling their Cabinets with members of the president's party.
The heads of departments are members of the Cabinet of the United States, an executive organ that normally acts as an advisory body to the president. In the Opinion Clause (Article II, section 2, clause 1) of the U.S. Constitution, heads of executive departments are referred to as "principal Officer in each of the executive Departments".
Some German-speaking areas use the term "senate" (such as the Senate of Berlin) for their cabinet, rather than the more common meaning of a legislative upper house. However, a great many countries simply call their top executive body the cabinet, including Israel, the United States, Venezuela, and Singapore, among others.
For purpose of seniority on joint committees, total time in Congress—Senate and House—is counted.Most joint committees rotate their chair and vice chair position between each chamber's majority at the end of a congressional term (two years), except for Taxation, which starts each term led by the House and rotates to the Senate at the end of each term's session (one calendar year).
In addition to the 15 heads of executive departments, there are 10 Cabinet-level officials. Biden altered his cabinet structure, elevating the chair of the Council of Economic Advisers , [ 1 ] director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy [ 2 ] and ambassador to the United Nations as Cabinet-level positions. [ 3 ]
Several committees divide their work into sub units called subcommittees. Committee sizes range from 6 to 50 members per committee. In the House, one person may not serve on more than two standing committees and four subcommittees at one time, though waivers can be granted to serve on additional committees.
The head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (aka the drug czar) was a cabinet-level position under both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, but not under Barack Obama. (Not to be confused with the head of the DEA, who has remained in the org chart underneath the cabinet position held by the Attorney General.)