Joe Biden's Cabinet

Click here to read more about President Donald Trump's (R) Cabinet in his second presidential term.

A presidential Cabinet is a group of senior federal officials who advise the president on the issues and activities of their respective agencies. The number of officials in a Cabinet can vary across presidential administrations. There were 26 officials in Joe Biden's Cabinet.

At the end of his time in office, there were two vacancies among the 26 positions in President Joe Biden's (D) Cabinet: Labor Secretary and U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary. Former Labor Secretary Marty Walsh resigned on March 11, 2023. Biden's nominee for the position, Julie Su, served as the acting secretary. U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge resigned from her position on March 22, 2024. Former Deputy Secretary Adrianne Todman served as acting secretary.

The Cabinet tradition is rooted in Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution, which states that the president "may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices."

While not explicitly identified in the Constitution, the Cabinet secretaries are the 15 agency heads who are in the presidential line of succession. The vice president is also part of the Cabinet.

The following offices were also Cabinet-rank positions in the Biden administration:

• White House chief of staff
• Ambassador to the United Nations
• Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
• Director of the Office of Management and Budget
• U.S. trade representative
• Director of National Intelligence
• Administrator of the Small Business Administration
• Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers
• Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy
• Director of the Central Intelligence Agency

All but two of these Cabinet positions—vice president and White House chief of staff—required Senate confirmation.

Click here to read more about each member.

President Donald Trump (R) did not include the chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, ambassador to the United Nations, or director of Office of Science and Technology Policy in his final Cabinet.

President Barack Obama (D) established a similar Cabinet to Biden's but did not include the directors of National Intelligence, Central Intelligence, or Office of Science and Technology Policy.

This page includes the following information:

• Cabinet and Cabinet-level appointees
• Confirmation process overview
• Historical comparison of Cabinet confirmations
• Historical comparison of Cabinet announcements
• Potential Cabinet and Cabinet-level appointees

Cabinet and Cabinet-level appointees

The following individuals were members of Biden's Cabinet. They were either confirmed by the U.S. Senate or held a position that did not require Senate confirmation.

Kamala Harris Vice President	Tony Blinken Secretary of State	Lloyd Austin Secretary of Defense	Janet Yellen Secretary of the Treasury

Merrick Garland Attorney General	Gina Raimondo Secretary of Commerce	Pete Buttigieg Secretary of Transportation	Alejandro Mayorkas Secretary of Homeland Security

Jennifer Granholm Secretary of Energy	Miguel Cardona Secretary of Education	Tom Vilsack Secretary of Agriculture	Debra Haaland Secretary of the Interior

Xavier Becerra Secretary of Health and Human Services	Julie Su Acting Secretary of Labor	Denis McDonough Secretary of Veterans Affairs	Adrianne Todman Acting Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

Avril Haines Director of National Intelligence	Linda Thomas-Greenfield U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations	Katherine Tai U.S. Trade Representative	Isabel Guzman Administrator of the Small Business Administration

Jared Bernstein Council of Economic Advisers Chair	Michael Regan Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency	Shalanda Young Director of the Office of Management and Budget	Arati Prabhakar Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy

William J. Burns Director of the Central Intelligence Agency	Jeff Zients White House Chief of Staff

Confirmation process

See also: Confirmation process for Joe Biden's Cabinet nominees

The following table provides an overview of the confirmation hearings and committee and Senate votes for each of Biden's Cabinet and Cabinet-rank nominees.

Overview of confirmation process for Joe Biden's Cabinet nominees
Nominee	Position	Announced	Senate committee	Confirmation hearing	Committee vote	Senate vote	Status
Tony Blinken	Secretary of State	November 23, 2020	Foreign Relations	January 19, 2021	Favorable (15-3)	78-22	Confirmed on January 26, 2021
Janet Yellen	Secretary of the Treasury	November 30, 2020	Finance	January 19, 2021	Favorable (26-0)	84-15	Confirmed on January 25, 2021
Lloyd Austin	Secretary of Defense	December 8, 2020	Armed Services	January 19, 2021	Favorable (Voice Vote)	93-2	Confirmed on January 22, 2021
Merrick Garland	Attorney General	January 7, 2021	Judiciary	February 22-23, 2021	Favorable (15-7)	70-30	Confirmed on March 10, 2021
Debra Haaland	Secretary of the Interior	December 17, 2020	Energy and Natural Resources	February 23-24, 2021	Favorable (11-9)	51-40	Confirmed on March 15, 2021
Tom Vilsack	Secretary of Agriculture	December 10, 2020	Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry	February 2, 2021	Favorable (Voice Vote)	92-7	Confirmed on February 23, 2021
Gina Raimondo	Secretary of Commerce	January 7, 2021	Commerce, Science, and Transportation	January 26, 2021	Favorable (21-3)	84-15	Confirmed on March 2, 2021
Marty Walsh	Secretary of Labor	January 7, 2021	Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions	February 4, 2021	Favorable (18-4)	68-29	Confirmed on March 22, 2021
Julie Su	Secretary of Labor	February 28, 2023	Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions	April 20, 2023	Favorable (11-10)	N/A	No vote taken
Xavier Becerra	Secretary of Health and Human Services	December 7, 2020	Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions / Finance	February 23, 2021 / February 24, 2021	No recommendation (14-14)	50-49	Confirmed on March 18, 2021
Marcia Fudge	Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	December 10, 2020	Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs	January 28, 2021	Favorable (17-7)	66-34	Confirmed on March 10, 2021
Pete Buttigieg	Secretary of Transportation	December 15, 2020	Commerce, Science, and Transportation	January 21, 2021	Favorable (21-3)	86-13	Confirmed on February 2, 2021
Jennifer Granholm	Secretary of Energy	December 17, 2020	Energy and Natural Resources	January 27, 2021	Favorable (13-4)	64-35	Confirmed on February 25, 2021
Miguel Cardona	Secretary of Education	December 22, 2020	Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions	February 3, 2021	Favorable (17-5)	64-33	Confirmed on March 1, 2021
Denis McDonough	Secretary of Veterans Affairs	December 10, 2020	Veterans' Affairs	January 27, 2021	Favorable (Unanimous)	87-7	Confirmed on February 8, 2021
Alejandro Mayorkas	Secretary of Homeland Security	November 23, 2020	Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs	January 19, 2021	Favorable (7-4)	56-43	Confirmed on February 2, 2021
Katherine Tai	U.S. Trade Representative	December 10, 2020	Finance	February 25, 2021	Favorable (Voice Vote)	98-0	Confirmed on March 17, 2021
Avril Haines	Director of National Intelligence	November 23, 2020	Intelligence (Select)	January 19, 2021	N/A	84-10	Confirmed on January 20, 2021
Linda Thomas-Greenfield	U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations	November 23, 2020	Foreign Relations	January 27, 2021	Favorable (18-4)	78-20	Confirmed on February 23, 2021
Cecilia Rouse	Chairwoman of the Council of Economic Advisers	November 30, 2020	Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs	January 28, 2021	Favorable (24-0)	95-4	Confirmed on March 2, 2021
Jared Bernstein	Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers	February 14, 2023	Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs	April 18, 2023	Favorable (12-11)	50-49	Confirmed on June 13, 2023
Neera Tanden	Director of the Office of Management and Budget	November 30, 2020	Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs / Budget	February 9, 2021 / February 10, 2021	N/A	N/A	Withdrawn on March 2, 2021
Shalanda Young	Director of the Office of Management and Budget	November 24, 2021	Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs / Budget	February 1, 2022 / February 1, 2022	Favorable (7-6) / Favorable (15-6)	61-36	Confirmed on March 15, 2022
Michael Regan	Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency	December 17, 2020	Environment and Public Works	February 3, 2021	Favorable (14-6)	66-34	Confirmed on March 10, 2021
Isabel Guzman	Administrator of the Small Business Administration	January 7, 2021	Small Business and Entrepreneurship	February 3, 2021	Favorable (15-5)	81-17	Confirmed on March 16, 2021
Eric Lander	Presidential Science Advisor and Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy	January 16, 2021	Commerce, Science, and Transportation	April 29, 2021	Favorable (Voice Vote)	Voice Vote	Confirmed on May 28, 2021
Arati Prabhakar	Presidential Science Advisor and Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy	June 21, 2022	Commerce, Science, and Transportation	July 20, 2022	Favorable (15-13)	56-40	Confirmed on September 22, 2022
William J. Burns	Director of the Central Intelligence Agency	January 11, 2021	Intelligence	February 24, 2021	Favorable (Voice Vote)	Voice Vote	Confirmed on March 18, 2021

Impeachment of Cabinet officials

See also: Impeachment of federal officials

House vote in favor of articles of impeachment against Alejandro Mayorkas (2024)

See also: Impeachment of Alejandro Mayorkas, 2024

On April 17, 2024, the U.S. Senate dismissed two articles of impeachment against U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. In two votes along party lines, with Democrats supporting and Republicans opposing the motions, the Senate voted that the allegations in the articles of impeachment did not meet the definition of high crimes and misdemeanors.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted to approve two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas on February 13, 2024. The vote was 214-213, with 214 Republicans voting in favor. Three Republicans, Reps. Michael Gallagher (R-Wis.), Ken Buck (R-Colo.), Tom McClintock (R-Calif.), and 210 Democrats voted against impeachment. This was the second time the articles of impeachment were put up for a vote, following a failed vote on February 6, 2024. The House transmitted the articles of impeachment to the U.S. Senate on April 16, 2024.

The articles of impeachment alleged that Mayorkas "willfully and systemically refused to comply with the immigration laws, failed to control the border to the detriment of national security, compromised public safety, and violated the rule of law and separation of powers in the Constitution" and breached the public trust "by knowingly making false statements to Congress and the American people and avoiding lawful oversight in order to obscure the devastating consequences of his willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law and carry out his statutory duties."

Mayorkas responded to the House Committee on Homeland Security's vote to approve the impeachment articles, saying, "I assure you that your false accusations do not rattle me and do not divert me from the law enforcement and broader public service mission to which I have devoted most of my career and to which I remain devoted."

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) introduced the articles of impeachment on November 13, 2023. The articles were amended by the House Committee on Homeland Security, and passed the committee in a vote along party lines, with all Republicans voting in favor, on January 31, 2024.

This was the first time the House voted on articles of impeachment against a Cabinet secretary since 1876. In 1876, Secretary of War William Belknap was impeached for "criminally disregarding his duty as Secretary of War and basely prostituting his high office to his lust for private gain."

Former Cabinet members

Marcia Fudge (2021-2024)

Fudge resigned as President Joe Biden's (D) U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary on March 22, 2024. She announced her resignation on March 11, 2024. Fudge said in a statement, "It has always been my belief that government can and should work for the people. For the last three years, I have fully embraced HUD's mission to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. The people HUD serves are those who are often left out and left behind. These are my people. They serve as my motivation for everything we have been able to accomplish."

After her resignation announcement, Biden said, "Under Marcia’s transformational leadership, we have worked hard to lower housing costs and increase supply. We’ve proposed the largest investment in affordable housing in U.S. history. We’ve taken steps to aggressively combat racial discrimination in housing by ensuring home appraisals are more fair and by strengthening programs to redress the negative impacts of redlining. Thanks to Secretary Fudge, we’ve helped first-time homebuyers, and we are working to cut the cost of renting. And there are more housing units under construction right now than at any time in the last 50 years. [...] I’m grateful for all of her contributions toward a housing system that works for all Americans, and I wish her well in her next chapter."

Cecilia Rouse (2021-2023)

Cecilia Rouse was the chairwoman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. On March 31, 2023, Rouse resigned from her position as chairwoman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. Rouse resumed teaching economics at Princeton University following her resignation. Rouse announced her resignation in November 2022.

In a statement, President Joe Biden (D) said, "The U.S. economy has been tested in the past 2 years, creating challenges unlike any since the Great Depression. As Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, Cecilia Rouse has been at the forefront navigating this unprecedented economic moment. No matter the challenge, Cecilia provided insightful analysis, assessed problems in a new way, and insisted that we examine the accumulation of evidence in drawing conclusions. And she's maintained steadfast calmness through it all."

Jared Bernstein was nominated as her successor in February 2023.

Marty Walsh (2021-2023)

Marty Walsh was the secretary of labor. On March 11, 2023, Walsh resigned as U.S. Secretary of Labor. The Daily Faceoff first reported on February 7 that Walsh would resign from his position as secretary of labor in the Biden administration to work as the executive director of the National Hockey League Players' Association. The outlet said the resignation would take effect sometime after Biden's February 7 state of the union address. On February 16, Walsh officially announced he intended to resign in mid-March to begin working as the executive director of the National Hockey League Players' Association.

The following day, President Joe Biden (D) said in a statement, "[Walsh's] record at the Department of Labor is a testament to the power of putting a card-carrying union member in charge of fighting for American workers. Marty has gone to bat for working families every day, and with his help, this administration has helped workers recover from a historic economic downturn and launch a new era of worker power."

Biden nominated Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su to replace Walsh.

Ron Klain (2021-2023)

Ron Klain was the White House chief of staff. Biden named Klain his White House chief of staff and assistant to the president on November 11, 2020. "Ron has been invaluable to me over the many years that we have worked together, including as we rescued the American economy from one of the worst downturns in our history in 2009 and later overcame a daunting public health emergency in 2014," Biden said in a statement.

Klain submitted a resignation letter to Biden on January 27, 2023. In the letter, he said, "The halfway point of your first term - with two successful years behind us, and key decisions on the next two years ahead — is the right time for this team to have fresh leadership. I have served longer than eight of the last nine Chiefs of Staff, and have given this job my all; now it is time for someone else to take it on." Biden announced he had selected Jeff Zients to replace Klain the same day. Klain's final day at the White House took place on February 7, with Zients officially beginning as chief of staff on February 8, 2023.

Eric Lander (2021-2022)

Eric Lander was the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. President Joe Biden (D) announced that Lander, a geneticist, molecular biologist, and mathematician, was his nominee for the position on January 16, 2021. Biden also elevated the position have Cabinet-rank status. The Senate confirmed Lander by voice vote on May 28, 2021.

On February 7, 2022, Lander submitted a letter of resignation to President Joe Biden (D). In the letter, Lander said: "I have sought to push myself and my colleagues to reach our shared goals — including at times challenging and criticizing. But it is clear that things I said, and the way I said them, crossed the line at times into being disrespectful and demeaning, to both men and women." His resignation was set to be effective no later than February 18. To read more, click here.

Historical comparison of Cabinet confirmations

Comparison to Trump administration

The following chart compares how many days it took after the inaugurations in 2017 and 2021 for the Cabinet secretaries of Presidents Donald Trump (R) and Joe Biden (D), respectively, to be confirmed. This chart includes the main 15 Cabinet positions.

Comparison to Obama administration

The following chart compares how many days it took after the inaugurations in 2009 and 2021 for the Cabinet secretaries of Presidents Barack Obama (D) and Joe Biden (D), respectively, to be confirmed. This chart includes the main 15 Cabinet positions.

Historical comparison of Cabinet announcements

The following chart shows how long it took the projected winner of three recent presidential elections—Barack Obama (D) in 2008, Donald Trump (R) in 2016, and Joe Biden (D) in 2020—to begin to announce their nominees for Cabinet and Cabinet-rank positions.

• White House chief of staff was the first position to be announced by all three with Obama taking the shortest time (2 days after the election) and Biden the longest (8 days after the election).
• With the exception of the chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, which was not Cabinet-rank in Trump's administration, Trump had named all of his nominees 72 days out.
• Obama took 45 days to do the same. (The director of national intelligence was not a Cabinet-rank position in his administration.)

Confirmation hearing process for Cabinet nominees

See also: Appointment confirmation process

After the president submits a written nomination to the U.S. Senate, the nomination is passed to the Senate committee with jurisdiction over the appointed position. Some positions require a joint hearing of two or more committees. Committee hearings allow a close examination of the nominee, looking for partisanship and views on public policy. They can also summon supporters and opponents to testify. Committees are permitted to conduct their own investigations into the nominees.

The following table outlines the jurisdiction of the Senate committees in terms of the presidential appointment confirmation process. The left column indicates the Senate committee, and the right indicates the federal departments and administrations over which the committee has jurisdiction.

Click here to learn more about the appointment confirmation process.

Jurisdiction of Senate committees in presidential appointment confirmation process
Committee	Jurisdiction
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry	U.S. Department of Agriculture
Armed Services	U.S. Department of Defense
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs	U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Securities and Exchange Commission Heads of Federal Banking institutions (e.g., FDIC)
Budget	All issues concerning the Budget (e.g., tax revenues, government expenditures)
Commerce, Science, and Transportation	U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Trade Commission U.S. Department of Commerce U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Undersecretary for Science and Technology Federal Communications Commission
Energy and Natural Resources	U.S. Department of Energy U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Environment and Public Works	Oversight in any issue concerning the environment, public works, or federal buildings
Finance	U.S. Department of the Treasury Social Security Administration International Trade Commission
Foreign Relations	U.S. Department of State International Monetary Fund U.S. Agency for International Development Peace Corps
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions	U.S. Department of Health and Human Services U.S. Department of Education U.S. Department of Labor U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs	U.S. Department of Homeland Security U.S. General Services Administration National Archives and Records Administration Circuit and Appeals Courts of District of Columbia United States Postal Service Inspectors General of all departments
Judiciary	Supreme Court Circuit Courts District Courts U.S. Department of Justice
Rules and Administration	Rules of the Senate General administration of congressional buildings Smithsonian Institution Botanic Gardens
Small Business and Entrepreneurship	Small Business Administration
Veterans' Affairs	U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs U.S. Department of Labor's Assistant Secretary for the Veterans Employment and Training
Intelligence (Select)	Central Intelligence Agency U.S. Department of Treasury's Assistant Secretary for Intelligence Analysis U.S. Department of Justice's Attorney General for National Security Director of National Intelligence

Potential Cabinet and Cabinet-level appointees

The following table shows potential appointees to Cabinet and Cabinet-level positions based on reports from several outlets, including Politico and The Washington Post. They are listed in alphabetical order by last name.

Joe Biden's Cabinet
Photo	Potential appointees
Secretary of State	Tony Blinken, Biden campaign foreign policy advisor William Burns, former deputy secretary of state Chris Coons, U.S. senator from Delaware Chris Murphy, U.S. senator from Connecticut Susan Rice, former U.N. ambassador
Secretary of the Treasury	Raphael Bostic, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Lael Brainard, Federal Reserve governor Roger Ferguson, former Federal Reserve vice chairman and governor Mellody Hobson, former chairwoman of DreamWorks Animation Sarah Bloom Raskin, former deputy secretary of the Treasury Elizabeth Warren, U.S. senator from Massachusetts Janet Yellen, former chair of the Federal Reserve
Secretary of Defense	Tammy Duckworth, U.S. senator from Illinois Michèle Flournoy, former undersecretary of defense for policy Jeh Johnson, former secretary of homeland security Jack Reed, U.S. senator from Rhode Island
Attorney General	Xavier Becerra, California attorney general Jeh Johnson, former secretary of homeland security Doug Jones, U.S. senator from Alabama Tom Perez, chairman of the Democratic National Committee Sally Yates, former acting U.S. attorney general
Secretary of Agriculture	Cheri Bustos, U.S. representative from Illinois Marcia Fudge, U.S. representative from Ohio Heidi Heitkamp, former U.S. senator from North Dakota Chellie Pingree, U.S. representative from Maine
Secretary of Commerce	Mellody Hobson, former chairwoman of DreamWorks Animation Terry McAuliffe, former governor of Virginia Meg Whitman (R), former CEO of eBay and Hewlett Packard
Secretary of Labor	Sharon Block, director of the Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard Law School Seth Harris, former deputy labor secretary Andy Levin, U.S. representative from Michigan Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants Tom Perez, chairman of the Democratic National Committee Bernie Sanders, U.S. senator from Vermont Bill Spriggs, chief economist at the AFL-CIO Julie Su, secretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency Marty Walsh, mayor of Boston
Secretary of Health and Human Services	Mandy Cohen, North Carolina secretary of health Michelle Lujan Grisham, governor of New Mexico Vivek Murthy, former U.S. surgeon general
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	Karen Bass, U.S. representative from California Alvin Brown, former mayor Jacksonville Maurice Jones, president and CEO of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation Keisha Lance Bottoms, mayor of Atlanta Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition
Secretary of Education	Linda Darling-Hammond, education professor emeritus at Stanford University Lily Eskelsen Garcia, former president of the National Education Association Jahana Hayes, U.S. representative from Connecticut Donna Shalala, U.S. representative from Florida Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers
Secretary of Veterans Affairs	Pete Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend Tammy Duckworth, U.S. senator from Illinois Jason Kander, former Missouri secretary of state
Secretary of Homeland Security	Xavier Becerra, California attorney general Val Demings, U.S. representative from Florida Alejandro Mayorkas, former deputy secretary of homeland security Lisa Monaco, former White House homeland security adviser
Director of the Office of Management & Budget	Brian Dees, former deputy director of the OMB Ben Harris, former economic adviser to Biden John Jones, former chief of staff to Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) Gene Sperling, former NEC director
U.S. Trade Representative	Nelson Cunningham, former White House special advisor on Western Hemisphere affairs Jimmy Gomez, U.S. representative from California
U.S. Representative to the United Nations	Pete Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend Wendy Sherman, former undersecretary of state
Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers	Heather Boushey, economist Lisa Cook, economics professor at Michigan State
Administrator of the Small Business Administration	Mónica Lozano, CEO of La Opinión

See also

• Joe Biden presidential transition
• Presidential election, 2020
• Ballotpedia's 2020 Election Help Desk: Presidential election results subject to lawsuits and recounts
• Ballotpedia's Daily Transition Tracker
• Donald Trump presidential Cabinet, 2017-2021