1 December 2004
The Cabinet gets its authority from Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution. Cabinet members advise the President on anything relating to their agency or duties. The Vice President and 15 Executive department heads comprise the Cabinet.

• Attorney General
  Alberto Gonzalez (subject to confirmation)
  Former Texas Secretary of State and legal counsel to then-Gov. Bush. Bush; in 1999, appointed Texas State Supreme Court Judge; in 2001, became the President's chief counsel. Made headlines in 2004 for memo characterizing Geneva Conventions as "quaint" and advising that they do not apply in the war on terrorism.
  
  Replaces John Ashcroft - resigned
  Nominated December 22, 2000
  Former Governor of Missouri; Former US Senator from Missouri
  The nonpartisan National Journal ranked Ashcroft as the most conservative US Senator in 1997 and 1998 and among the most conservative Senators in 1995, 1996 and 1999
• Secretary of Homeland Security
  Tom Ridge - resigned
  Sworn in January 24, 2003
  Former Director of the Office of Homeland Security; Governor of Pennsylvania (1995-2001)
• Secretary of Agriculture
  Ann M. Veneman - resigned
  Sworn in January 20, 2001
  Former USDA Deputy Secretary (1991-1993); Former Associate Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service; Former Secretary, California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA)
• Secretary of Commerce
  Carlos Gutierrez (subject to confirmation)
  Cuban-born CEO of food conglomerate Kellogg (world's largest cereal maker, with 37% market share; number two in cookies and crackers, behind Kraft Foods) lobbied Washington to open up US markets to "cheap" Australian sugar
  
  Replaces Donald Evans - resigned
  Sworn in January 20, 2001
  Former CEO of Texas-based Tom Brown, Inc, an energy company; Former Chairman, Board of Regents, University of Texas.
• Secretary of Defense
  Donald Rumsfeld
  Sworn in January 20, 2001
  Former Chief Executive Officer, President, and then Chairman of G.D. Searle & Co; Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of General Instrument Corporation; Former officer in Nixon, Ford and Reagan Administrations, including Secretary of Defense; Former U.S. Representative from Illinois
• Secretary of Education
  Margaret Spellings (subject to confirmation)
  Relatively obscure presidential advisor on domestic policy; advised then-Gov. Bush for six years.
  
  Replaces Rod Paige - resigned
  Senate Confirmation, January 21, 2001
  Former Superintendent, Houston Independent School District (HISD); Former Dean, College of Education, Texas Southern University
• Secretary of Energy
  Spencer Abraham - resigned
  Sworn in January 20, 2001
  Former US Senator from Michigan
• Secretary of Labor
  Elaine Chao
  Senate Confirmation, January 29, 2001
  Former President and Chief Executive Officer of United Way of America; Former Director of the Peace Corps
• Secretary of Health and Human Services
  Tommy Thompson
  Senate Confirmation, January 24, 2001
  Former Governor of Wisconsin (four terms)
• Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
  Alphonso Jackson
  Senate Confirmation, March 31, 2004
  Former President of American Electric Power-TEXAS
• Secretary of the Interior
  Gale Norton
  Sworn in January 20, 2001
  Former Associate Solicitor of the U.S. Department of the Interior; Former Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Agriculture
• Secretary of State
  Condoleezza Rice (subject to confirmation)
  The nation's diplomat-in-chief is an Alabama native is a former academic (provost at Stanford) who has served in dipolomatic circles under three administrations.
  
  Replaces Colin Powell - resigned
  Sworn in January 20, 2001
  Former Chairman of America's Promise - The Alliance for Youth; Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
• Secretary of Transportation
  Norman Mineta
  January 25, 2001
  Former U.S. Secretary of Commerce under President Clinton, Former U.S. Representative from California
• Secretary of the Treasury
  John Snow
  Senate Confirmation, January 30, 2003
  Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CSX Corporation, Former Chairman of the Business Roundtable
• Secretary of Veteran's Affairs
  Anthony Principi
  Senate Confirmation, January 23, 2001
  Former President of QTC Medical Services, Inc; Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs (89-92); Republican chief counsel and staff director of the Senate Armed Services Committee
• Vice President Dick Cheney

Cabinet Rank

• Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael O. Leavitt
  Appointed November 6, 2003; Former governor of Utah
• National Drug Control Policy Director John Walters
  Appointed December 7, 2001
• Office of Management and Budget Director Joshua B. Bolten
  Confirmed by the Senate, June 26, 2003
  January 2001 through June of 2003, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy; March 1999 - November 2000, Policy Director of the Bush-Cheney presidential campaign
• President's Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card, Jr.
  Appointed November 26, 2000
• U.S. Trade Representative, Ambassador Robert B. Zoellick
  Confirmed by Senate unanimously, February 7, 2001
  Former Executive Vice President at Fannie Mae; served with Secretary of State James A. Baker, III, as Under Secretary of State for Economic and Agricultural Affairs

Other Appointees of Note:

• Council of Economic Advisers Chairman N. Gregory Mankiw
• Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan
• National Economic Council Director Stephen Friedman
• World Bank President James Wolfensohn