The federal government has 15 executive cabinet departments, listed together in 5 U.S.C. § 101: State, Treasury, Defense, Justice, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy, Education, Veterans Affairs, and Homeland Security.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 101 – Executive Departments Each is led by a Senate-confirmed Secretary (or, at Justice, the Attorney General) who sits in the President’s Cabinet. Together they employ hundreds of thousands of civilian workers and run most of the federal budget.
The 15 Cabinet Departments at a Glance
In the order they appear in federal succession law, with the year each was established:
- Department of State (1789)
- Department of the Treasury (1789)
- Department of Defense (1947, successor to the 1789 Department of War)
- Department of Justice (1870; the Attorney General position dates to 1789)
- Department of the Interior (1849)
- Department of Agriculture (1862)
- Department of Commerce (1913, split from Commerce and Labor)
- Department of Labor (1913, split from Commerce and Labor)
- Department of Health and Human Services (1980, reorganized from Health, Education and Welfare)
- Department of Housing and Urban Development (1965)
- Department of Transportation (1966)
- Department of Energy (1977)
- Department of Education (1979)
- Department of Veterans Affairs (1989)
- Department of Homeland Security (2002)
Every department houses dozens of bureaus and sub-agencies that carry out specialized missions. The sections below walk through what each one does.
Security and Foreign Affairs
State
The State Department handles foreign policy, runs U.S. embassies and consulates, negotiates treaties, and represents the country in international organizations like the United Nations. Created in 1789 as the Department of Foreign Affairs, it was the first federal agency established under the Constitution; Congress renamed it later that year after adding domestic record-keeping duties.2Office of the Historian. Why Is the Department Called the Department of State? Foreign Service officers overseas issue visas, provide consular services, and assist Americans abroad.
Defense
The Defense Department, headquartered at the Pentagon, oversees five of the six U.S. military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Space Force. The sixth, the Coast Guard, falls under Homeland Security in peacetime.3USAGov. Learn About the U.S. Military Branches Its budget is consistently the largest share of federal discretionary spending. The department grew out of the 1789 Department of War; a 1947 reorganization created the National Military Establishment, and a 1949 amendment renamed it the Department of Defense and consolidated the Army, Navy, and Air Force under a single Secretary.4Department of War. Historic Highlights From the Department of War
Homeland Security
Homeland Security, created by the Homeland Security Act of 2002, is the newest department.5Legal Information Institute. Homeland Security Act of 2002 It sits above agencies handling border protection, immigration enforcement, cybersecurity, and emergency response. Its components include the Transportation Security Administration, Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Coast Guard, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Veterans Affairs
The VA provides healthcare, disability compensation, education benefits, and home loan guarantees to former service members and their families. It operates the country’s largest integrated healthcare system, with roughly 170 medical centers and over a thousand outpatient clinics. It administers the GI Bill, VA-backed home loans (eligibility varies by length and era of service),6Veterans Affairs. Eligibility for VA Home Loan Programs and the national cemetery system.
Money, Trade, and Work
Treasury
Treasury manages federal finances. It collects taxes through the Internal Revenue Service, borrows money by issuing Treasury bonds and notes, produces currency through the U.S. Mint and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, enforces economic sanctions, and monitors international financial crimes.
Commerce
Commerce promotes economic growth through data collection, trade policy, and intellectual property protection. Its Census Bureau conducts the decennial population count that determines how House seats are apportioned among the states.7United States Census Bureau. About the Decennial Census of Population and Housing The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office reviews and grants patents and trademarks. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration tracks weather and ocean conditions and issues forecasts.
Labor
Labor enforces workplace safety rules, wage protections, and employment rights. It administers the Fair Labor Standards Act, which sets the federal minimum wage and requires overtime pay at one and a half times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a week.8U.S. Department of Labor. Wages and the Fair Labor Standards Act The Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspects workplaces and sets safety standards. The department also coordinates unemployment insurance and job training programs.
Agriculture
USDA supports farming, inspects food safety, and runs the country’s largest nutrition assistance program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). It funds agricultural research and soil conservation, and its Food Safety and Inspection Service inspects meat, poultry, and egg products before they reach consumers.
Energy
The Energy Department has a dual mission that surprises many people. It manages the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile through the National Nuclear Security Administration, and it funds research into renewable energy and advanced technology through a network of National Laboratories. It is also responsible for safe disposal of radioactive waste and maintains the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Land, Housing, and Movement
Interior
Interior is the primary steward of federal lands and natural resources. It runs the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management (which oversees millions of acres of public land used for recreation, grazing, and mineral extraction), and the Fish and Wildlife Service. Through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the department fulfills federal trust responsibilities to Native American tribes and Alaska Native communities.
Housing and Urban Development
HUD focuses on affordable housing, homeownership, and community development. The Federal Housing Administration, housed within HUD, insures mortgages for borrowers who might not qualify for conventional loans. HUD also runs the Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8), which helps low-income families, elderly individuals, veterans, and people with disabilities afford rent in the private market. Around 2,000 local public housing agencies administer the vouchers using HUD funding.9U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Housing Choice Voucher Tenants Grant programs distribute money to local governments for neighborhood rehabilitation and affordable housing construction.
Transportation
DOT oversees the safety and efficiency of roads, airways, railways, and waterways. The Federal Aviation Administration regulates air traffic control, certifies aircraft, and licenses commercial pilots. The Federal Highway Administration works with state and local authorities on the interstate system and bridge repairs. The department also oversees pipeline safety, rail transit, and maritime commerce.
Law, Health, and Education
Justice
The Justice Department is the federal government’s law firm and its primary criminal law enforcement arm. It is led by the Attorney General rather than a Secretary. It prosecutes violations of federal law, represents the United States in civil litigation, and provides legal opinions to the President and executive agencies. Sub-agencies include the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Health and Human Services
HHS manages public health programs and some of the biggest items in the federal budget. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention monitors disease outbreaks and issues public health guidance. The Food and Drug Administration regulates the safety of food, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and cosmetics. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administers Medicare for people 65 and older and Medicaid for low-income individuals and families.
Education
The Department of Education administers federal financial aid, enforces civil rights laws in schools, and provides supplemental funding to low-income school districts and special education programs. It runs the Pell Grant program and manages the federal student loan portfolio. Day-to-day schooling is overwhelmingly managed at the state and local level; this department channels federal dollars and enforces anti-discrimination protections based on race, sex, and disability.
In March 2025, an executive order directed the Secretary of Education to take steps toward closing the department and returning authority to states.10The White House. Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities Because the department was created by an act of Congress, only Congress can formally abolish it. As of mid-2026 it remains a statutory cabinet department listed in 5 U.S.C. § 101, though its staffing and operations have been significantly reduced.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 101 – Executive Departments
How Cabinet Departments Are Led
Every department head is nominated by the President and must be confirmed by the Senate under the Appointments Clause.11Constitution Annotated. Overview of Appointments Clause Confirmation takes a simple majority; the Vice President breaks a tie. Once confirmed, a Secretary reports directly to the President and serves at the President’s pleasure, meaning the President can remove them at any time without showing cause.
Below each Secretary sits a Deputy Secretary and several Under Secretaries who manage day-to-day operations and specific divisions. Specialized agencies inside a department often have their own directors. The FDA operates within HHS, the FBI operates within Justice, and so on. Those sub-agencies can have significant operational independence, but their leaders remain accountable to the department head, and federal statutes define each agency’s jurisdiction to prevent overlapping authority.
Cabinet nominees also face financial conflict-of-interest rules. Federal law prohibits government officers from participating in any official matter that would affect their personal financial interests.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 208 – Acts Affecting a Personal Financial Interest Nominees typically divest conflicting holdings, place assets in a qualified blind trust, or agree to recuse themselves from affected decisions. The Defense Secretary faces an additional rule: because civilian control of the military is a foundational principle, the position must be filled from civilian life, with a cooling-off period after active duty that Congress can waive only by a separate vote in both chambers.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 U.S.C. 113 – Secretary of Defense
Cabinet Departments Versus Independent Agencies
Not every major federal agency is a cabinet department. The Environmental Protection Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency, NASA, and the Social Security Administration are independent agencies that sit outside the cabinet structure. The distinction matters. The President can fire a cabinet secretary at will, but independent agency heads are typically shielded by “for cause” removal protections, meaning the President generally needs to show incompetence, neglect, or similar grounds to dismiss them. Independent agencies are also frequently run by multi-member boards or commissions with staggered terms and bipartisan requirements rather than by a single secretary.
Cabinet secretaries also sit in the presidential line of succession and act as the President’s direct policy advisors in their area. Independent agency heads do neither. Both types of agencies create and enforce regulations under the Administrative Procedure Act, but the level of White House control over day-to-day operations differs sharply.
Cabinet Order in the Line of Presidential Succession
If both the President and Vice President are unable to serve, leadership passes first to the Speaker of the House, then to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and then through the cabinet in the order each department was created. The sequence is codified in 3 U.S.C. § 19.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 3 U.S. Code 19 – Vacancy in Offices of Both President and Vice President The cabinet portion runs:
- Secretary of State (4th overall)
- 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
The order tracks when each department was established, which is why the Secretary of State (heading the first department created in 1789) comes first and the Secretary of Homeland Security (heading the newest, created in 2002) comes last.15USAGov. Order of Presidential Succession Only cabinet members who meet the constitutional requirements for the presidency (natural-born citizen, at least 35 years old, 14 years a U.S. resident) are eligible; anyone who doesn’t qualify is skipped.