National Security Council Meetingcredit: Yoichi Okamoto
National Security meeting on Vietnam, 11:31 A.M. sessioncredit: Yoichi Okamoto
Dating from George Washington's administration, the Cabinet serves as the President's advisory group. It is composed of the heads of the executive departments and the United States Representative to the United Nations. The Vice President also participates in all Cabinet meetings, and others are invited as needed. Cabinet members are appointed by the President and must be approved by a majority vote in the Senate (51 votes).
They function at the pleasure of the President, and their purpose is to advise the President on matters related to their respective departments, in addition to administering the programs of these departments. Cabinet officers typically resign when a new President takes office. When President Johnson assumed office after President Kennedy's assassination, however, he asked the existing Cabinet to stay on in order to ensure a smooth transition.
(Source: The United States Government Organization Manual.)
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President
Johnson's Cabinet (Listed in order of succession) |
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Secretary of State |
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Dean Rusk (D-NY) |
January 20, 1961 - January 20, 1969 |
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Secretary of the Treasury |
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Douglas Dillon (R-Wash., D.C.) |
January 20, 1961 - March 31, 1965 |
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Henry H. Fowler (D-VA) |
April 1, 1965 - December 20, 1968 |
Joseph W. Barr (D-IN) |
December 20, 1968 - January 20, 1969 |
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Secretary of Defense |
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Robert S. McNamara (R-MI) |
January 20, 1961 - February 29, 1968 |
Clark M. Clifford (D-MD) |
March 1, 1968 - January 20, 1969 |
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Attorney General |
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Robert F. Kennedy (D-MA) |
January 20, 1961 - September 3, 1964 |
Nicholas deB. Katzenbach (D-Wash. D.C.) |
September 3, 1964 - September 21, 1966 |
Ramsey Clark (D-TX) |
September 21, 1966 - January 20,1969 |
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Postmaster General |
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John A. Gronouski (D-WI) |
September 24, 1963 - September 10, 1965 |
Lawrence F. O’Brien (D-MA) |
September 10, 1965 - April 10, 1968 |
M. Marvin Watson (D-TX) |
April 10, 1968 - January 20, 1969 |
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Secretary of the Interior |
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Stewart L. Udall (D-AZ) |
January 20, 1961 - January 20, 1969 |
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Secretary of Agriculture |
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Orville L. Freeman (D-MN) |
January 20, 1961 - January 20, 1969 |
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Secretary of Commerce |
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Luther H. Hodges (D-NC) |
January 20, 1961 - January 15, 1965 |
John T. Connor (D-NJ) |
January 15, 1965 - February 1, 1967 |
Alexander B. Trowbridge (D-Wash. D.C.) |
February 1, 1967 - March 1, 1968 |
C.R. Smith (D-NY) |
March 1, 1968 - January 20, 1969 |
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Secretary of Labor |
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W. Willard Wirtz (D-IL) |
September 25, 1962 - January 20, 1969 |
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Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare |
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Anthony J. Celebrezze (D-OH) |
July 31, 1962 - August 19, 1965 |
John W. Gardner (R-NY) |
August 19, 1965 - March 1, 1968 |
Wilbur J. Cohen (D-MD) |
March 1, 1968 - January 20, 1969 |
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Secretary of Housing and Urban Development |
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Robert C. Weaver (D-Wash. D.C.) |
January 17, 1966 - January 1, 1969 |
Robert C. Wood (D-MA) |
January 2, 1969 - January 20, 1969 |
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Secretary of Transportation |
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Alan C. Boyd (D-FL) |
January 12, 1967 - January 20, 1969 |
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U.S. Representative to the United Nations |
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Adlai E. Stevenson (D-IL) |
January 20, 1961 - July 14, 1965 (died in office) |
Arthur J. Goldberg (D-IL) |
July 20, 1965 - June 21, 1968 |
George W. Ball (D-IL) |
June 24, 1968 - September 25, 1968 |
James Russell Wiggins (D-Wash. D.C.) |
October 4, 1968 - January 20, 1969 |