In a political system, the cabinet is an official advisory council of a head of state who also serves as the heads of government departments. In countries that use a parliamentary system, the Cabinet collectively decides legislative policy; however, in most presidential systems (including the United States), the members of the cabinet are political appointees whose powers and duties are administrative rather than legislative. The president appoints each member and is legally empowered to dismiss them or downgrade their status, and they are all subject to impeachment for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”
The cabinet originated in the 1790s with George Washington, who organized his principal officers into a council and added it to the executive branch structure. In the United States, the cabinet includes the vice president and the 15 department heads—or secretaries—as well as other non-Senate-confirmed officials who participate in Cabinet meetings on a rotating basis. The president chairs the cabinet’s meetings and has ultimate responsibility for its decisions.
Cabinet members are expected to publicly support the policies of the government, regardless of their private reservations. This is especially true in the Westminster-style parliamentary monarchies, where ministers are Ministers of the Crown and share responsibility for government policy with the monarch. A Cabinet may be replaced by a new one at any time, but the replacements are usually members of the same political party. This is to ensure the unity of the government and a stable parliamentary majority.