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The Cabinet of the United States, which is the principal advisory body to the President of the United States, has had 22 Hispanic and Latino American members altogether, with two of them serving in multiple positions for a total of 24 cabinet appointments. Of that number, 18 different Latino American individuals held a total of 19 permanent cabinet posts, having served as the heads of the federal executive departments; five more Latin Americans held cabinet-level positions, which can differ under each president; and one officeholder served in both cabinet and cabinet-rank roles. The U.S. Census Bureau defines Hispanic or Latino Americans as citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race. [1] No Hispanic or Latino American ever held a cabinet position before the civil rights movement or the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which banned discrimination in public accommodations, employment, and labor unions. [2]
Lauro Cavazos became the first Hispanic to serve in a president's cabinet when he was appointed Secretary of Education by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. [3] Federico Peña was appointed Secretary of Transportation by President Bill Clinton in 1993 and served as Secretary of Energy during part of Clinton's second term, thus making him the first Latino American to hold two different cabinet positions. [4] Aida Álvarez became the first Latina woman to serve in the president's cabinet when Clinton picked her for the cabinet-rank position of Administrator of the Small Business Administration in 1997. However, the first Latina to lead a permanent cabinet office was Hilda Solis when President Barack Obama appointed her Secretary of Labor in 2009. Mel Martínez, who was born in Cuba, became the first foreign-born Hispanic and Latino American to serve in the presidential cabinet when President George W. Bush named him Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in 2001. [5] [a]
President Joe Biden named the most Hispanic and Latino Americans as secretaries to his initial Cabinet: former California Attorney General Xavier Becerra as Secretary of Health and Human Services; Connecticut Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona as Secretary of Education; and DHS Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas as Secretary of Homeland security, exceeding by one the record set by President Bill Clinton and equaled by Barack Obama. However, including cabinet reshuffles during his second term in office, Obama still holds the record for most Hispanic and Latino Americans appointed to permanent cabinet positions with five, the most of any presidency, therefore surpassing Clinton's previous number of four.
The Departments of Education, Housing and Urban Development, and Labor have had the most Hispanic or Latino American secretaries with three. The Departments of Energy and Interior have had two; the Departments of Commerce, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Justice, State, and Transportation have had one. No Hispanic or Latino American has led departments of Agriculture, Defense, Treasury, or Veterans Affairs. [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
The totals for this list include only Hispanic and Latino American presidential appointees confirmed (if necessary) by the U.S. Senate to cabinet or cabinet-level positions and taking their oath of office; they do not include acting officials or nominees awaiting confirmation.
The following list includes Hispanic and Latino Americans who have held permanent positions in the cabinet, all of whom are in the line of succession to the presidency. The table below is organized based on the beginning of their terms in office. Officeholders whose terms begin the same day are listed according to the presidential order of succession.
No. | Portrait | Name | Office | Succession [13] | Term start | Term end | Party | Administration(s) | Ref. | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Lauro Cavazos * | Secretary of Education | 16 | September 20, 1988 | December 12, 1990 | Republican | Reagan | [3] | ||
Bush Sr. | ||||||||||
2 | Manuel Lujan Jr. * | Secretary of the Interior | 8 | February 3, 1989 | January 20, 1993 | [14] | ||||
3 | Federico Peña * | Secretary of Transportation | 14 | January 21, 1993 | February 14, 1997 | Democratic | Clinton | [4] | ||
4 | Henry Cisneros * | Secretary of Housing and Urban Development | 13 | January 22, 1993 | January 20, 1997 | [15] | ||||
(3) | Federico Peña * | Secretary of Energy | 15 | March 12, 1997 | June 30, 1998 | [4] | ||||
5 | Bill Richardson | Secretary of Energy | 15 | August 18, 1998 | January 20, 2001 | [16] | ||||
6 | Mel Martínez | Secretary of Housing and Urban Development | 13 [a] | January 24, 2001 | August 13, 2004 | Republican | Bush Jr. | [5] | ||
7 | Alberto Gonzales * | Attorney General | 7 | February 3, 2005 | September 17, 2007 | [17] | ||||
8 | Carlos Gutierrez * | Secretary of Commerce | 10 [a] | February 7, 2005 | January 20, 2009 | [18] | ||||
9 | Ken Salazar | Secretary of the Interior | 8 | January 20, 2009 | April 12, 2013 | Democratic | Obama | [19] | ||
10 | Hilda Solis * | Secretary of Labor | 11 | February 24, 2009 | January 22, 2013 | [20] | ||||
11 | Tom Perez | Secretary of Labor | 11 | July 23, 2013 | January 20, 2017 | [21] | ||||
12 | Julian Castro | Secretary of Housing and Urban Development | 13 | July 28, 2014 | January 20, 2017 | [22] | ||||
13 | John King Jr. | Secretary of Education | 16 | January 1, 2016 | January 20, 2017 | [23] | ||||
14 | Alexander Acosta | Secretary of Labor | 11 | April 28, 2017 | July 19, 2019 | Republican | Trump I | [24] | ||
15 | Alejandro Mayorkas * | Secretary of Homeland Security | 18 [a] | February 2, 2021 | January 20, 2025 | Democratic | Biden | [25] | ||
16 | Miguel Cardona | Secretary of Education | 16 | March 2, 2021 | January 20, 2025 | [26] | ||||
17 | Xavier Becerra * | Secretary of Health and Human Services | 12 | March 19, 2021 | January 20, 2025 | [27] | ||||
18 | Marco Rubio * | Secretary of State | 4 | January 21, 2025 | Incumbent | Republican | Trump II | [28] [29] |
The president may designate or remove additional officials as cabinet members. These positions have not always been in the cabinet, so some Hispanic and Latino American officeholders may not be listed.
The following list includes Hispanic and Latino Americans who have held cabinet-rank positions, which can vary under each president. They are not in the line of succession and are not necessarily officers of the United States. The table below is organized based on the beginning of their terms in office while it raised to cabinet-level status. Officeholders whose terms begin the same day are listed alphabetically by last name.
No. | Portrait | Name | Office | Term start | Term end | Party | Administration(s) | Ref. | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bill Richardson * | United States Ambassador to the United Nations | February 18, 1997 | August 18, 1998 | Democratic | Clinton | [16] | ||
2 | Aida Álvarez * | Administrator of the Small Business Administration | March 7, 1997 | January 19, 2001 | [30] | ||||
3 | Maria Contreras-Sweet | Administrator of the Small Business Administration | April 7, 2014 | January 20, 2017 | Obama | [31] | |||
4 | Jovita Carranza | Administrator of the Small Business Administration | January 14, 2020 | January 20, 2021 | Republican | Trump | [32] | ||
5 | Isabel Guzman | Administrator of the Small Business Administration | March 17, 2021 | January 20, 2025 | Democratic | Biden | [33] |
The Cabinet of the United States is the principal official advisory body to the president of the United States. The Cabinet generally meets with the president in a room adjacent to the Oval Office in the West Wing of the White House. The president chairs the meetings but is not formally a member of the Cabinet. The vice president of the United States serves in the Cabinet by statute. The heads of departments, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, are members of the Cabinet, and acting department heads also participate in Cabinet meetings whether or not they have been officially nominated for Senate confirmation. Members of the Cabinet are political appointees and administratively operate their departments. As appointed officers heading federal agencies, these Cabinet Secretaries are bureaucrats with full administrative control over their respective departments. The president may designate heads of other agencies and non-Senate-confirmed members of the Executive Office of the President as members of the Cabinet.
The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters pertaining to economic and fiscal policy. The secretary is, by custom, a member of the president's cabinet and, by law, a member of the National Security Council, and fifth in the U.S. presidential line of succession.
The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government. The attorney general acts as the principal legal advisor to the president of the United States on all legal matters. The attorney general is also a statutory member of the Cabinet of the United States and a member of the United States National Security Council. Additionally, the attorney general is seventh in the presidential line of succession.
The United States Secretary of Commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The Secretary serves as the principal advisor to the President of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The Secretary reports directly to the President and is a statutory member of Cabinet of the United States. The Secretary is appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the United States Senate. The Secretary of Commerce is responsible for promoting American businesses and industries. The department states its mission as 'to foster, promote, and develop the foreign and domestic commerce of the United States'.
The United States secretary of health and human services is the head of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all health matters. The secretary is a member of the United States Cabinet. The office was formerly known as the secretary of health, education, and welfare. In 1980, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was renamed to Department of Health and Human Services, and its education functions and Rehabilitation Services Administration were transferred to the new United States Department of Education. Patricia Roberts Harris headed the department before and after it was renamed.
The United States secretary of transportation is the head of the United States Department of Transportation. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to transportation. The secretary is a statutory member of the Cabinet of the United States, and is fourteenth in the presidential line of succession.
The United States secretary of energy is the head of the United States Department of Energy, a member of the Cabinet of the United States and fifteenth in the presidential line of succession. The position was created on October 1, 1977, when President Jimmy Carter signed the Department of Energy Organization Act, establishing the department. Originally, the secretary and the department focused on energy production and regulation. Over time, the emphasis shifted to developing technology for more efficient energy sources and energy education. After the Cold War, the department's attention also turned to radioactive waste disposal and environmental quality maintenance. Former secretary of defense James Schlesinger was the first secretary of energy. As a Republican nominated by Democratic President Jimmy Carter, Schlesinger’s appointment remains the only instance of a president choosing a member of another political party for the position. Schlesinger is also the only secretary to be dismissed from the post. Hazel O'Leary, Bill Clinton’s first secretary of energy, was the first female and first African American to hold the position. The first Hispanic to serve as energy secretary was Clinton’s second energy secretary, Federico Peña. Spencer Abraham became the first Arab American to hold the position on January 20, 2001, under President George W. Bush. Steven Chu, appointed on January 20, 2009, under President Barack Obama, became the first Asian American to hold the position. Chu also served as the longest-serving secretary of energy and was the first individual to join the Cabinet after having received a Nobel Prize.
The United States secretary of veterans affairs is the head of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the department concerned with veterans' benefits, health care, and national veterans' memorials and cemeteries. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet and second to last at seventeenth in the line of succession to the presidency. Until the appointment of David Shulkin in 2017, all appointees and acting appointees to the post were United States military veterans, but that is not a requirement to fill the position.
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Kenneth Lee Salazar is an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat who served United States ambassador to Mexico. He previously served as the 50th United States Secretary of the Interior in the administration of President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously was a United States Senator from Colorado from 2005 to 2009. He and Mel Martínez (R-Florida) were the first Hispanic U.S. senators since 1977; they were joined by Bob Menendez in 2006. Prior to his election to the U.S. Senate, he served as Attorney General of Colorado from 1999 to 2005.
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