U.S. Government and Civics / Unit 7: The Presidency and the Federal Bureaucracy
7.4 The Executive Office and the Cabinet
Notes
The president relies on advisers to lead a huge executive branch.
- Executive Office of the President (EOP): advisers closest to the president, including the White House Office (with the chief of staff), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which prepares the president's budget, and the National Security Council (NSC).
- Cabinet: the heads of the 15 executive departments plus other top officials. Most department heads are called secretaries; the head of the Justice Department is the Attorney General.
- Cabinet members are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
- Examples: the Department of State (foreign affairs), Treasury (money and taxes), Defense (military), Homeland Security (created 2002).
- The Cabinet is not created by the Constitution; it developed by custom starting with Washington.
Practice
Which office prepares the president's budget proposal for Congress?
OMB, part of the EOP, writes the budget and reviews agency plans.
The head of the Department of Justice is called the:
The Attorney General leads the Justice Department.
Which department is mainly responsible for U.S. relations with other countries?
The Secretary of State is the nation's top diplomat.
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