The Bush Cabinet

The Executive Branch of Government

Elaine L. Chao is the Nation’s 24th Secretary of Labor and the first Asian American woman appointed to a President's cabinet in U.S. history. During her tenure, the Department updated the white collar overtime regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which has been on the agenda of every Administration since 1977. n August 17, 2006, President Bush signed the Pension Reform Act, which protects the 44 million workers whose retirement security rests upon private sector defined benefit pension plans. A native of Kentucky, she holds an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School.

U.S. Department of Labor

Dr. Condoleezza Rice became Secretary of State on 26 January 2005. She had been the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, commonly referred to as the National Security Advisor, since January 2001. In June 1999, she completed a six year tenure as Stanford University Provost; she had been a member of the Stanford faculty since 1981. She served in the George H.W. Bush Administration as as Director, and then Senior Director, of Soviet and East European Affairs in the National Security Council and as a Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. A native of Alabama, Rice holds degrees from the University of Denver and Notre Dame.

U.S. Department of State

Mary E. Peters was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the 15th Secretary of Transportation on 30 September 2006. In 2001, she was Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). From 1985 to 2001, she served in the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT). Prior to her stint public service, she worked in Phoenix, AZ, as the national director for transportation policy and consulting at HDR, Inc., a major engineering firm. A fourth-generation Arizonan and an avid motorcyclist, Secretary Peters holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Phoenix and attended Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

U.S. Department of Transportation

The Senate confirmed Henry M. Paulson, Jr. as the 74th Secretary of the Treasury on 28 June 2006. Prior to his appointment, Paulson was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs. From 1983 until 1988, Paulson headed up Investment Banking Services for the Midwest Region and became Managing Partner of the Chicago Office in 1988. In the Nixon Administration, Paulson was a member of the White House Domestic Council, serving as Staff Assistant to the President from 1972 to 1973 and as Staff Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon from 1970 to 1972. He graduated from Dartmouth and Harvard.

U.S. Department of the Treasury

The Senate unanimously confirmed James Peake, M.D., as Secretary of Veterans Affairs on 14 December 2007. He directs the nation’s second largest Cabinet Department; the VA employs more than 250,000 people and had a fiscal year 2007 budget of $77.3 billion. The Missouri native graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point; served in Vietnam; and then attended medical school at Cornell University. He retired from the Army in 2004, having served as U.S. Army Surgeon General from 2000 to 2004. Prior to joining the VA, Peake was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Project Hope, a non-profit international health foundation operating in more than 30 countries.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

VRichard B. Cheney has served two terms (2001-2004, 2005-2008) as vice president of the United States. Before assuming this role, he was Chief Executive Officer of the Halliburton Company. His career in public service began in 1969 with the Nixon Administration. When Gerald Ford assumed the Presidency in August 1974, Cheney served on the transition team; Deputy Assistant to the President; Assistant to the President; and White House Chief of Staff, a position he held until the end of the Ford Administration. He representing Wyoming in the House of Representatives. A native of Nebraska (b. 30 January 1941), he earned his bachelor's and master's of arts degrees from the University of Wyoming.

Vice President of the United States

Joshua Bolten was sworn in as White House Chief of Staff on 14 April 2006. From January 2001 through June of 2003, he was Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy at the White House. From March 1999 through November 2000, Bolten was Policy Director of the Bush-Cheney presidential campaign. From 1994 to 1999, he was Executive Director, Legal & Government Affairs, for Goldman Sachs International in London. He attend Princeton University and Stanford Law School.

The U.S. Senate confirmed Jim Nussle as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget on 4 September 2007. In 1990, Nussle became the youngest member of Congress at age 30, representing Iowa in the House of Representatives. In his 16 years in the House, his leadership positions included chairing the House Budget Committee. He ran an unsuccessful campaign for governor in 2006. He holds a law degree from Drake University Law School in Des Moines, IA.

Office of Management and Budget

Stephen L. Johnson was sworn in as the 11th Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on 2 May 2005. He leads EPA's efforts to protect human health and the environment, managing more than 17,000 Agency employees nationwide with an annual budget of more than $7 billion. A career EPA employee, Johnson held several senior-level positions before becoming director, including Acting Administrator, Deputy Administrator, Acting Deputy Administrator, and Assistant Administrator of EPA's Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances. A native of the Washington, D.C. area, he has degrees from Taylor University and The George Washington University.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

The United States Senate confirmed Ambassador Susan C. Schwab as United States Trade Representative (USTR) on 8 June 2006; she had been serving as Deputy USTR. As USTR, Ambassador Schwab serves as the President’s principal trade advisor, negotiator, and spokesperson on trade issues. Schwab served as Dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Policy from 1995 through 2003. Schwab came to the University of Maryland from Motorola, Inc., where she had served as Director of Corporate Business Development. Prior to that, she was Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General of the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service during the Administration of George H.W. Bush.

U.S. Trade Representative

John P. Walters, Director of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), was sworn in on 7 December 2001. As the Nation’s “Drug Czar,” Walters coordinates all aspects of Federal drug control programs and spending. Previously he served at ONDCP as Chief of Staff and as Deputy Director for Supply Reduction; he also worked in the U.S. Department of Education and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Office of National Drug Control Policy