The federal government has 15 executive departments, listed in 5 U.S.C. § 101, that together carry out the day-to-day work of the executive branch.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 101 – Executive Departments They range from the Department of State, created in 1789, to the Department of Homeland Security, established in 2002. Each is led by a Senate-confirmed official who advises the President and manages a specific area of national policy, an arrangement rooted in Article II, Section 2, which lets the President demand written opinions from the principal officer of each executive department on matters within their duties.2Constitution Annotated. Article II Section 2
Below is what each department does, grouped by the kind of work it handles.
The Inner Cabinet: State, Treasury, Defense, and Justice
Four departments carry outsized influence and are informally known as the Inner Cabinet.
State. The oldest department runs foreign policy, negotiates treaties, and operates the network of U.S. embassies and consulates. The Secretary of State is the highest-ranking cabinet official and stands first among department heads in the line of succession.
Treasury. Treasury manages federal revenue, produces the currency, and shapes economic policy. It collects taxes through the Internal Revenue Service, supervises national banks, and enforces financial sanctions.3U.S. Department of the Treasury. Role of the Treasury
Defense. Defense is the largest employer in the federal government, with roughly 2.9 million military and civilian personnel. Originally the Department of War in 1789, it was reorganized under the National Security Act of 1947 and renamed in 1949.4Library of Congress. An Act to Establish an Executive Department to Be Denominated the Department of War From the Pentagon, it manages the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force under a civilian Secretary of Defense.
Justice. Justice is the exception among the four: it is led by the Attorney General, not a Secretary. The Attorney General is the nation’s chief law enforcement officer and oversees the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the U.S. Marshals Service.5United States Department of Justice. Agencies Justice also houses the Office of the Solicitor General, which represents the federal government before the Supreme Court and decides which unfavorable lower court rulings the government will appeal.6United States Department of Justice. Office of the Solicitor General
Departments That Handle Resources, Industry, and Workers
Interior. Established in 1849, Interior oversees federal lands including national parks and wildlife refuges, and runs programs for tribal communities through the Bureau of Indian Affairs. It also regulates extraction of coal, oil, gas, and other minerals from public land under the Mineral Leasing Act.7U.S. Government Publishing Office. Mineral Leasing Act
Agriculture. Created in 1862, USDA handles far more than farming. It administers the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, subsidizes food supply stability, enforces meat and poultry safety, and manages the National Forest System.
Commerce. Founded in 1903, Commerce promotes international trade and domestic business. It houses the Census Bureau, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which grants patents and registers trademarks.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 35 USC 2 – Powers and Duties It also runs export controls on sensitive technologies through the Bureau of Industry and Security under the Export Control Reform Act.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC Ch 58 – Export Control Reform
Labor. Labor, established in 1913, enforces the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour and workplace safety standards through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.10U.S. Department of Labor. State Minimum Wage Laws It runs unemployment insurance programs and publishes the monthly Employment Situation report and the Consumer Price Index. Employers who repeatedly or willfully violate minimum wage or overtime rules face civil penalties of up to $2,515 per violation.11U.S. Department of Labor. Civil Money Penalty Inflation Adjustments
Energy. Energy, created in 1977, does much more than electricity. It maintains the nuclear weapons stockpile, manages the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and oversees high-level radioactive waste disposal under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act.12U.S. Department of Energy. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 It operates the national laboratories and has expanded into artificial intelligence and supercomputing research, including the Genesis Mission.13Department of Energy. Artificial Intelligence
Departments That Deliver Public Services and Infrastructure
Health and Human Services. HHS commands the largest spending of any cabinet department, with award obligations exceeding $1 trillion annually. It funds Medicare and Medicaid, regulates drugs and medical devices through the Food and Drug Administration, tracks disease through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and funds biomedical research through the National Institutes of Health. It also runs social services for children and families.
Housing and Urban Development. HUD, established in 1965, focuses on affordable housing and community development. It administers the Section 8 housing choice voucher program, which subsidizes rent for low-income families.14USAGov. Section 8 Housing HUD enforces fair housing laws and, through the Federal Housing Administration, insures mortgages for borrowers who might not qualify for conventional loans. For 2026, the FHA loan ceiling for a single-unit home in high-cost areas is $1,249,125.15U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD’s Federal Housing Administration Announces Loan Limits
Transportation. Created in 1966, DOT regulates highways, railways, aviation, and public transit. Its most visible component is the Federal Aviation Administration, which manages the national airspace and certifies aircraft. DOT funds interstate highway maintenance and distributes grants to local transit systems.
Education. Founded in 1979, Education administers federal student financial aid, including the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. For the 2026–2027 award year, the maximum Federal Pell Grant is $7,395.16Federal Student Aid. 2026-27 Federal Pell Grant Maximum and Minimum Award Amounts It also enforces civil rights compliance in schools and distributes special education funding.
Veterans Affairs. The VA was elevated to cabinet status in 1988. It operates one of the largest healthcare systems in the country, serving more than nine million veterans a year, and it manages disability compensation, GI Bill education benefits, and a home loan guaranty program that allows eligible veterans to buy a home with no down payment. It is the second-largest cabinet department by employee count.
Homeland Security
The Department of Homeland Security is the newest cabinet department, created in 2002 in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks. It combined all or part of 22 existing federal agencies into a single department focused on domestic security and border integrity.17Department of Homeland Security. Creation of the Department of Homeland Security Its major components include Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Transportation Security Administration, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Secret Service.
Two DHS components have grown significantly since. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which joined DHS in 2003, coordinates the federal response to natural disasters and other emergencies.18FEMA. About Us The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency defends federal networks and critical infrastructure, issues emergency directives when active threats emerge, and maintains a catalog of known exploited vulnerabilities used by government and private-sector defenders alike.19Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Home Page
The Order of the 15 and Why It Matters
The order of the departments is not decorative. Under 3 U.S.C. § 19, if neither the President, Vice President, Speaker of the House, nor President pro tempore of the Senate can serve, the presidency passes to eligible cabinet members in the order their departments were established:20Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 3 USC 19 – Vacancy in Offices of Both President and Vice President
- Secretary of State
- Secretary of the Treasury
- Secretary of Defense
- Attorney General
- Secretary of the Interior
- Secretary of Agriculture
- Secretary of Commerce
- Secretary of Labor
- Secretary of Health and Human Services
- Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
- Secretary of Transportation
- Secretary of Energy
- Secretary of Education
- Secretary of Veterans Affairs
- Secretary of Homeland Security
To be eligible, a cabinet member must meet the same constitutional requirements as any presidential candidate: natural-born citizenship, at least 35 years of age, and 14 years of U.S. residency. A cabinet secretary serving in an acting capacity, without Senate confirmation, does not qualify. That is why, during major events like the State of the Union address, one confirmed cabinet member is kept at a separate, undisclosed location.
Cabinet-Rank Officials Who Aren’t Part of the 15
Presidents often grant “cabinet rank” to officials who lead agencies outside the 15 departments. Common examples are the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the U.S. Trade Representative, and the Ambassador to the United Nations. They attend cabinet meetings and carry the title, but their agencies are not listed in 5 U.S.C. § 101 and their positions do not appear in the presidential line of succession.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 101 – Executive Departments Which positions get cabinet rank varies by administration, so the number of people around the Cabinet Room table is always larger than 15, even though the number of executive departments is not.