Growth of the President’s Cabinet Since 1789

One way to gauge the growth of the federal government over the years is to look at the makeup of the president’s cabinet. Under George Washington, there were only four cabinet positions – secretary of state; secretary of the treasury; secretary of war; and the attorney general.

Today, as you’ll see in the table below, there are 15 official cabinet positions established by statute. (At the bottom of the table, there’s a scroll bar to let you see entries not immediately visible on your screen. To focus on a specific president, just type his name in the search box above the table.) In addition, the following posts are considered to be cabinet-level positions, meaning that these individuals are considered to be top advisers to the president: vice president; chief of staff; director of the Office of Management and Budget; administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; the U.S. trade representative; the ambassador to the United Nations; the chairperson of the Council of Economic Advisers; and the administrator of the Small Business Administration.

Do you see the growth of the cabinet as an indication of a more complex world, an indication of an overreaching government, a little of both, or something else entirely? Let me know.

 PresidentStateTreasuryWar*Attorney GeneralNavy*Postmaster General**InteriorAgricultureCommerce***LaborDefenseHealth, Education & Welfare****Housing & Urban DevelopmentTransportationEnergyEducationVeterans AffairsHomeland Security

1G. WashingtonXXXX

2J. AdamsXXXXX

3T. JeffersonXXXXX

4J. MadisonXXXXX

5J. MonroeXXXXX

6J.Q. AdamsXXXXX

7A. JacksonXXXXXX

8M. Van BurenXXXXXX

9W.H. HarrisonXXXXXX

10J. TylerXXXXXX

11J. PolkXXXXXX

12Z. TaylorXXXXXXX

13M. FillmoreXXXXXXX

14F. PierceXXXXXXX

15J. BuchananXXXXXXX

16A. LincolnXXXXXXX

17A. JohnsonXXXXXXX

18U.S. GrantXXXXXXX

19R. HayesXXXXXX

20J. GarfieldXXXXXXX

21C. ArthurXXXXXXX

22G. ClevelandXXXXXXXX

23B. HarrisonXXXXXXXX

24G. Cleveland (2nd Term)XXXXXXXX

25W. McKinleyXXXXXXXX

26T. RooseveltXXXXXXXXX

27W. TaftXXXXXXXXX

28W. WilsonXXXXXXXXXX

29W. HardingXXXXXXXXXX

30C. CoolidgeXXXXXXXXXX

31H. HooverXXXXXXXXXX

32F.D. RooseveltXXXXXXXXXX

33H. TrumanXXXXXXXXXXX

34D. EisenhowerXXXXXXXXXX

35J. KennedyXXXXXXXXXX

36L. JohnsonXXXXXXXXXXXX

37R. NixonXXXXXXXXXXXX

38G. FordXXXXXXXXXXX

39J. CarterXXXXXXXXXXXXX

40R. ReaganXXXXXXXXXXXXX

41G.H.W. BushXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

42W. ClintonXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

43G.W. BushXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

44B. ObamaXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

* Departments of War and Navy were incorporated into Defense in 1947
**Postmaster General ceased being a cabinet post in 1971
***Commerce was called Commerce & Labor under T. Roosevelt and W. Taft
****Health, Education & Welfare became Health and Human Services in 1979 when the Education Department was established