Going by Wikipedia, it looks like there are currently 23 or 24 if you include the President himself. There are 15 department heads...
Secretary of State - Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of the Treasury - Timothy Geithner
Secretary of Defense - Robert Gates
Attorney General - Eric Holder
Secretary of the Interior - Ken Salazar
Secretary of Agriculture - Tom Vilsack
Secretary of Commerce - Gary Locke
Secretary of Labor - Hilda Solis
Secretary of Health and Human Services - Kathleen Sebelius
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development - Shaun Donovan
Secretary of Transportation - Ray LaHood
Secretary of Energy - Steven Chu
Secretary of Education - Arne Duncan
Secretary of Veterans Affairs - Eric Shinseki
Secretary of Homeland Security - Janet Napolitano
...and 7 cabinet level officers...
Vice President of the United States - Joseph Biden
White House Chief of Staff - Rahm Emanuel
Director of the Office of Management and Budget - Peter Orszag
United States Trade Representative - Ron Kirk
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency - Lisa P. Jackson
Ambassador to the United Nations - Susan Rice
Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers - Christina Romer
...but it's slippery. For instance, that Wikipedia article mentions the Press Secretary (currently Robert Gibbs) as a cabinet-level official in its text, but he was not included in the list above. I believe it's kind of plastic. I suppose the President could appoint a Representative of Joe Blow if he wanted to (not sure if the Senate would have to confirm it), and fire him or eliminate the position at will.
Including the missing Press Secretary, the best answer I can provide is 24. If you count members of his unofficial "Kitchen Cabinet" (undoubtedly every President has one) then who knows?
Copyright © 2026 eLLeNow.com All Rights Reserved.
