Question: how is the president's cabinet chosen?
Answer: Cabinet Members are chosen by the President. This includes the Vice President, as well as the heads of the 15 executive departments. Examples of these positions are: the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Education, and the Secretary of the Treasury. The President also has the option of appointing additional members to his Cabinet. Often, a President will do this by moving positions that already exist to Cabinet Rank or by creating new positions. In his term, President Bush not only designated many positions such as the White House Chief of Staff to his Cabinet, he also created a new position in his Cabinet, called the Secretary of Homeland Security.
However, while the President does get to choose his Cabinet members, they must be approved by another branch of the U.S. government: the Senate. They must be confirmed by a majority vote, which is 51 of the 100 members of the Senate.
The President can replace his Cabinet members at any time, as they do not have fixed terms. Generally, Cabinet members serve as long as the President is in office.
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