Cabinet of The United States - in Federal Law and The Constitution

In Federal Law and The Constitution

There is no explicit definition of the term "Cabinet" in either the U.S. Constitution, the United States Code, or the Code of Federal Regulations. There are occasional references to "cabinet-level officers" or "secretaries", which when viewed in their context do refer to the "Heads of the Executive Departments" as listed in 5 U.S.C. § 101.

"The principal officers in each of the executive departments" are mentioned in Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution. This is the Article in the Constitution about the Executive Branch of the government. Also, "the principal officers of the executive departments" are mentioned in Section 4 of the 25th Amendment, which is an important section concerning the removal of the President when he or she is unable to carry out his duties because of some disability. The "principal officers" are not necessarily synonymous with cabinet members.

In 3 U.S.C. § 302 with regard to delegation of authority by the President, it is provided that "nothing herein shall be deemed to require express authorization in any case in which such an official would be presumed in law to have acted by authority or direction of the President." This pertains directly to the heads of the executive departments as each of their offices are created and are specified by statutory law (hence the presumption) and thus gives them the authority to act for the President within their areas of responsibility without any specific delegation.

Under 5 U.S.C. § 3110, federal officials are prohibited from appointing their immediate family members to certain governmental positions, including those in the Cabinet. Passed in 1967, this law was a congressional response in delayed dismay about John F. Kennedy's appointment of his brother Robert F. Kennedy to the office of the Attorney General. Some members are higher than others.