Jessica Marcotte    age 15    of New Bedford    Mass    for her question

HOW IS THE PRESIDENT S CABINET SELECTED?

The Cabinet of the United States is made up of the heads of the nation’s 11 executive departments Membership in the Cabinet is determined by the    president    He appoints the members with the advice and consent of the Senate and he may dismiss them at any time

The Constitution of the United States makes no mention of a Cabinet In describing the powers of the President it states that "he may require the opinion of the principal officer in each of the executive departments upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices " In 1789 Congress established three departments State War and Treasury as well as the office of the attorney general

From the beginning President George Washington often consulted with the department heads and the attorney general The first recorded meeting of this group of advisers held in 1791 included the three secretaries and the Vice President Later the attorney general and the secretary of the navy also attended the meetings

By the early 1800s the Cabinet was commonly regarded as consisting of the heads of executive offices But not until 1907 did a federal statute first use the term "Cabinet "

Some Presidents discontinued Cabinet meetings Andrew Johnson for example gathered about him a group of personal advisers known as the "kitchen cabinet "

Various Presidents have asked other officials in the executive branch of government to take part in Cabinet meetings regularly. In 1961 for example President John Kennedy began the custom of having the United States ambassador to the United Nations attend Cabinet meetings.

The President calls meetings of the Cabinet usually once a week in the Cabinet Room of the White House

As department heads Cabinet members are legal officers of the federal government They are responsible for administering their departments and carrying out government policies

By custom Cabinet members resign when a new President takes office This procedure enables the new chief executive to select his own Cabinet officers

The Cabinet system of government is often called the parliamentary system of government The officers who direct the executive work of the government are directly responsible for the parliament or legislature In some countries with Cabinet systems, the Cabinet officials are members of the parliament

The official head of the government such as a king or president selects the "prime minister " or premier from the parliament The prime minister has executive authority in the government His advisers help form the ministry

If one party has a majority in the parliament the leader of that party usually becomes the prime minister He selects members of his party to head the departments of the government

If no party has a majority the king or president picks the man who can form a coalition or combination of parties to support him.