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 concerned with promoting American businesses and industries; the department states its mission to be "to foster, promote, and develop the foreign and domestic commerce".
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. The energy secretary and the department originally focused on energy production and regulation. The emphasis soon shifted to developing technology for better and more efficient energy sources, as well as energy education. After the end of the Cold War, the department's attention also turned toward radioactive waste disposal and the maintenance of environmental quality. Former secretary of defense James Schlesinger served as the first secretary of energy. As a Republican nominated to the post by Democratic president Jimmy Carter, Schlesinger's appointment marks the only time a president has chosen 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, serving under the administration of George W. Bush. Steven Chu became the first Asian American to hold the position on January 20, 2009, serving under president Barack Obama. Chu was also the longest-serving secretary of energy and the first individual to join the Cabinet after having received a Nobel Prize.
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear weapons program, nuclear reactor production for the United States Navy, energy-related research, and energy conservation.
The secretary of the Army is a senior civilian official within the United States Department of Defense, with statutory responsibility for all matters relating to the United States Army: manpower, personnel, reserve affairs, installations, environmental issues, weapons systems and equipment acquisition, communications and financial management.
The director of national intelligence (DNI) is a senior cabinet-level United States government official, required by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to serve as executive head of the United States Intelligence Community (IC) and to direct and oversee the National Intelligence Program (NIP). All IC agencies report directly to the DNI. The DNI also serves, upon invitation, as an advisor to the president of the United States, the National Security Council, and the Homeland Security Council on all intelligence matters. The DNI, supported by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), produces the President's Daily Brief (PDB), a classified document including intelligence from all IC agencies, handed each morning to the president of the United States.
Kenneth Lee Salazar is an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat who is the 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.
The Under Secretary for Science and Innovation, formerly the Under Secretary for Science and Energy, is a high-ranking position within the United States Department of Energy. The position was created by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and the first Under Secretary for Science, Raymond L. Orbach, was sworn in on June 1, 2006. The under secretary is appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate. In March 2009, Steven E. Koonin was nominated to replace Orbach. Franklin (Lynn) M. Orr was sworn in as the Under Secretary for Science and Energy on December 17, 2014, and served in this position through the end of the Obama administration. The most recent under secretary was Paul Dabbar.
The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) is a nuclear industry trade association in the United States, based in Washington, D.C.
The Under Secretary for Nuclear Security, in the United States Department of Energy, is the Administrator for the National Nuclear Security Administration. The National Nuclear Security Administration's responsibilities include designing, producing, and maintaining safe, secure and reliable nuclear weapons for the U.S. military, providing safe, militarily effective naval nuclear propulsion plants, and promoting international nuclear safety and nonproliferation. The current Under Secretary is Jill Hruby.
The Assistant Secretary of Energy for Fossil Energy and Carbon Management is the head of the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management within the United States Department of Energy. The Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management is responsible for several initiatives, including implementation of a $2 billion, 10-year initiative to develop a new generation of environmentally sound clean coal technologies, and the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve and Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve. The Assistant Secretary manages about 1000 scientists, engineers, technicians and administrative staff.
Dennis Ray Spurgeon is a former Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy within the United States Department of Energy. He was sworn in on April 3, 2006, becoming the most senior nuclear technology official in the American government. In addition, he is the leader of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, a strategy aimed at accelerating the demonstration of a more proliferation resistant closed fuel cycle and reducing the possibility that nuclear energy could be used for non-peaceful purposes. In his capacity as Assistant Secretary, he has previously served as Acting Under Secretary of Energy for Energy and Environment.
The Assistant Secretary for Housing, who also carries the title Federal Housing Commissioner, is a position within the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Assistant Secretary is responsible for overseeing the $400 billion Federal Housing Administration insurance portfolio and the Department of Housing and Urban Development's regulatory responsibilities in the area of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the housing mission of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the manufactured housing industry.
The Office of Science is a component of the United States Department of Energy (DOE). The Office of Science is the lead federal agency supporting fundamental scientific research for energy and the Nation’s largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences. The Office of Science portfolio has two principal thrusts: direct support of scientific research and direct support of the development, construction, and operation of unique, open-access scientific user facilities that are made available for use by external researchers.
The Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) is an agency of the United States Department of Energy which promotes nuclear power as a resource capable of meeting the energy, environmental, and national security needs of the United States by resolving technical and regulatory barriers through research, development, and demonstration.
Carolyn W. Colvin was the Acting Commissioner of Social Security Administration in the United States, appointed on February 14, 2013, having succeeded Michael J. Astrue. On June 20, 2014, President Barack Obama nominated her to serve as the commissioner. On September 18, 2014, the United States Senate Committee on Finance approved her nomination by a 22–2 vote. However, her nomination was never brought up for a vote before the full Senate.
Danny Ray Brouillette is an American government official, lobbyist and businessman who served as the United States Secretary of Energy in the Donald Trump administration from 2019 to 2021. He previously served as the deputy secretary of energy from August 2017 to December 2019. In 2023, Brouillette was named president and chief executive officer elect of the Edison Electric Institute.
Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty is an American scientist and former government official who served as the under secretary of energy for nuclear security and administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration. Earlier in her career, she had served in various other leadership positions in the Department of Energy and the National Security Council.
Joel Szabat is a former American government official and military officer serving on the Amtrak Board of Directors since 2024. He previously served as Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Aviation and International Affairs.
David Steele Bohigian is an American businessman, investor, venture capitalist, and government official. He served as the acting president of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the former development finance institution of the United States government, from March to December 2019. Bohigian had previously served as the corporation's executive vice president. He was confirmed by the Senate by voice vote in August 2017 under the Donald Trump administration. Bohigian also served as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Market Access and Compliance under President George W. Bush.
