It is one of the oddities of US politics that although the cabinet has been a feature of federal government since 1789, there is no direct reference to it in the Constitution. Today the cabinet consists of the heads of 15 major government departments (Box 1), nominated by the president but subject to the approval of the Senate. Senate rejection of presidential nominees is rare and has only happened twice since 1945, most recently in the case of John Tower in 1989. However, presidents have been known not to make, or even withdraw, nominations they felt might be rejected, as was the case with Tom Daschle in 2009.
Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton
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