Below is a list of confirmations for Cabinet positions, Cabinet-level positions, and other significant positions that were approved through the Senate between January and May 2017, by a recorded roll-call vote, rather than by a voice vote. Despite being nominated promptly during the transition period, many cabinet members were unable to take office on Inauguration Day because of delays in the formal confirmation process., President Trump had fewer cabinet nominees confirmed than any other president except George Washington by the same length of time into his presidency. Part of the lateness was ascribed to the delays in submitting background-check paperwork. The last confirmed Cabinet member, Robert Lighthizer, took office as U.S. Trade Representative on May 11, 2017, four months after his nomination.
Timeline
Senate votes
Candidates for Cabinet positions
After election day, media outlets reported on persons described by various sources as possible appointments to senior positions in the incoming Trump presidency. The number of people which have received media attention as potential cabinet appointees is higher than in most previous presidential elections, partly because the Trump'16 campaign staff was significantly smaller and less expensive, thus there are not as many people already expected to receive specific roles in the upcoming Trump administration. In particular, "Trump ha a smaller policy brain trust than a new president normally carries" because as an anti-establishment candidate who began his campaign by largely self-funding his way to the Republican party nomination, unlike most previous presidential winners "Trump does not have the traditional cadre of Washington insiders and donors to build out his Cabinet." An additional factor that tends to make the field of potential nominees especially broad, is that unlike most presidential transition teams who select politicians as their appointees, the Trump transition team "has started with a mandate to hire from the private sector whenever possible." Until the Trump Administration announces their official cabinet, and those nominees are confirmed by the Senate, this page will continue to be updated with new information and potential positions. The membership of the presidential cabinet also tends to evolve during the course of the presidency; turnover often causes individual names to change, and more rarely, creation of new departments and merging/downsizing of existing departments can alter the size of the cabinet.
Cabinet-level officials have positions that are considered to be of Cabinet level, but which are not part of the Cabinet. Which exact positions are considered part of the presidential cabinet, can vary with the president. The CIA and FEMA were cabinet-level agencies under Bill Clinton, but not George W. Bush. The head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy was a cabinet-level position under both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, but not under Barack Obama. Designation of an agency as being cabinet-level requires that Congress enact legislation, although executive orders unilaterally created by the president can be used to create many other types of position inside the executive branch. Members of the cabinet proper, as well as cabinet-level officials, meet with the president in a room adjacent to the Oval Office.
On February 8, 2017 President Trump outlined the 24 members of the Cabinet with the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers excluded. In addition to the chair, there are two other members of the council, as well as a staff of economists, researchers, and statisticians.
