The 15 federal departments are the executive departments listed in 5 U.S.C. § 101: State, the Treasury, Defense, Justice, the 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 Secretary confirmed by the Senate, except the Department of Justice, which is led by the Attorney General. Together their heads make up the President’s Cabinet.
The Full List in Statutory Order
George Washington started with four officials in 1789: the Secretaries of State, Treasury, and War, and the Attorney General. Congress has added the rest over the following two centuries as new areas of national policy demanded their own department. In the order Congress lists them:
- Department of State — foreign policy, embassies, passports and visas
- Department of the Treasury — federal revenue, the national debt, the IRS, economic sanctions
- Department of Defense — the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Space Force
- Department of Justice — federal prosecutions, the FBI, the DEA
- Department of the Interior — public lands, national parks, tribal affairs
- Department of Agriculture — food safety, farm support, nutrition programs
- Department of Commerce — census, patents and trademarks, trade
- Department of Labor — workplace safety, wage enforcement
- Department of Health and Human Services — Medicare, Medicaid, CDC, FDA
- Department of Housing and Urban Development — fair housing, rental assistance, FHA mortgage insurance
- Department of Transportation — aviation, highways, transit
- Department of Energy — nuclear stockpile, energy research, radioactive waste
- Department of Education — federal student aid, school data, education civil rights
- Department of Veterans Affairs — veterans’ healthcare, disability benefits, GI Bill
- Department of Homeland Security — border security, disaster response, counterterrorism
The statutory order is not just housekeeping. It also sets the line of presidential succession through the Cabinet, discussed further below.
Diplomacy, Defense, and Justice
The Department of State is the oldest executive department, dating to 1789. It runs foreign policy, negotiates treaties, and staffs U.S. embassies and consulates around the world.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 USC 2651 – Establishment of Department Foreign Service officers also issue passports and visas, making State the first point of contact for Americans traveling abroad and for foreign nationals seeking entry.
The Department of Defense commands all of the armed forces: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Space Force.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 111 – Executive Department The Space Force, established as a separate armed force within the Department of the Air Force, is the newest branch.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC Chapter 908 – The Space Force Before 1947, the department was known as the Department of War. It controls the largest discretionary budget in the federal government.
The Department of Justice is the federal government’s law firm. It prosecutes federal crimes and represents the United States in court, and its head carries the title Attorney General rather than Secretary — the only department set up that way.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 501 – Executive Department The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration both sit inside it.
Finance, Commerce, and Labor
The Department of the Treasury manages federal revenue, the national debt, and the currency. It houses the Internal Revenue Service, issues government bonds to fund federal spending, and enforces economic sanctions against foreign adversaries.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 31 US Code 301 – Department of the Treasury
The Department of Commerce promotes business at home and abroad. It runs the U.S. Census Bureau, which conducts the decennial population count, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which handles intellectual property protection.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1501 – Establishment of Department; Secretary; Seal
The Department of Labor protects the American workforce through agencies like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Wage and Hour Division.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 551 – Establishment of Department; Seal It enforces the Fair Labor Standards Act, which sets the federal minimum wage and requires overtime pay after 40 hours in a workweek.9U.S. Department of Labor. Wages and the Fair Labor Standards Act
Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Energy
The Department of the Interior manages the country’s public lands and natural resources. Created in 1849, it oversees the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management, carries out the federal government’s trust responsibilities to Native American tribes through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and regulates oil, gas, and mineral extraction on federal land.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 43 USC 1451 – Establishment
The Department of Agriculture keeps the food supply stable and supports the rural economy. Its statutory mission centers on gathering and sharing useful information related to agriculture, rural development, and human nutrition.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 7 USC 2201 – Establishment of Department In practice that means meat and poultry inspections, financial help for farmers, and nutrition programs — the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program being the best known.
The Department of Energy was created by the Department of Energy Organization Act in 1977.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 7131 – Establishment Its portfolio spans the nuclear weapons stockpile, energy research, and radioactive waste management.
Health, Housing, and Education
The Department of Health and Human Services reaches more Americans day to day than almost any other department. It administers Medicare and Medicaid, which together cover tens of millions of elderly, disabled, and low-income people, and it houses the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3501 – Establishment of Department; Effective Date
The Department of Housing and Urban Development works to make housing more available and more fair. It runs the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program, provides mortgage insurance through the Federal Housing Administration, and enforces the Fair Housing Act.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3532 – Establishment of Department
The Department of Education oversees federal student aid, collects data on school performance, and enforces civil rights laws inside educational institutions that receive federal funding.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 20 US Code 3411 – Establishment of Department; Appointment of Secretary Students apply for Pell Grants and federal loans through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
Transportation, Veterans Affairs, and Homeland Security
The Department of Transportation sets safety standards for vehicles, aircraft, and public transit and distributes billions in federal grants for highway, bridge, and airport projects.16Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 102 – Department of Transportation It houses the Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Highway Administration.
The Department of Veterans Affairs runs one of the country’s largest healthcare systems, treating former service members for injuries and illnesses tied to their military service, and administers the GI Bill.17Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 USC 301 – Department Defense handles active-duty personnel; Veterans Affairs picks up once service ends.
The Department of Homeland Security is the newest of the 15, created in 2002 after the September 11 attacks.18Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 6 USC 111 – Executive Department; Mission It brought border security, immigration enforcement, disaster response, and counterterrorism under one roof. Among its best-known agencies are the Transportation Security Administration, which screens airline passengers, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which coordinates the federal response to hurricanes, wildfires, and other disasters.
The Cabinet, Appointments, and the Line of Succession
Each department head serves at the pleasure of the President and must be confirmed by the Senate under the Constitution’s Appointments Clause.19Library of Congress. ArtII.S2.C2.3.1 Overview of Appointments Clause The 15 secretaries (plus the Attorney General) are the statutory department heads, but the Cabinet in practice is broader: it includes the Vice President and any additional officials the President designates as cabinet-level, such as certain agency administrators. Those extra members sit in on Cabinet meetings without leading one of the 15 departments.
Cabinet secretaries also fill out the line of presidential succession after the Vice President, the Speaker of the House, and the President pro tempore of the Senate. The order matches the sequence in 5 U.S.C. § 101, starting with the Secretary of State and ending with the Secretary of Homeland Security.20Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 3 USC 19 – Vacancy in Offices of Both President and Vice President To be eligible, a successor must meet the constitutional requirements for the presidency, including being a natural-born citizen and at least 35 years old.