Cabinet

The US Cabinet is a council of 15 principal officers who lead the major executive departments. Each position is nominated by the President, confirmed by the Senate, and carries specific executive responsibilities. This page covers what each cabinet position is, how nominations work, and what cabinet members do in the game.

The 15 Cabinet Positions

Cabinet positions are ordered by presidential line of succession (after the Vice President):

How Nominations Work

The nomination process has three stages:

1. Presidential Nomination

Only the character currently holding the President office can nominate candidates for cabinet positions. The President selects a character (player or NPP) and submits the nomination from the executive dashboard.

• A nomination creates a pending cabinet nomination record for the position.
• Only one nomination per position can be pending at a time.
• The President can withdraw a nomination before the Senate vote closes.

2. Senate Confirmation

Once nominated, the candidate enters the Senate confirmation process. See Confirmation Process for the full mechanics of the confirmation vote.

3. Taking Office

When the Senate confirms a nomination, the character is installed as the cabinet member. Their currentOffice field is updated, and the position appears as filled on the executive dashboard.

Parliamentary Equivalent: Cabinet Bills (UK/JP)

In UK and JP, the Cabinet is formed differently. The Prime Minister appoints cabinet members directly after government formation — there is no separate Senate confirmation because those countries have no Senate equivalent. Instead, cabinet composition in parliamentary systems is tracked through the governmentFormations document.

Parliamentary cabinet members can also propose cabinet bills — a special category of legislation exclusive to cabinet-level government policy. These have their own route at /country/[code]/legislature/cabinet-bills.

What Cabinet Members Do

Cabinet members in A House Divided currently fulfill a combination of structural and future gameplay roles:

Current:

• Occupy a named executive office, contributing to their character's profile and political career arc
• Receive notifications relevant to their department (e.g., budget-related events for Treasury)
• Appear in the executive branch listing visible to all players

Future (planned):

• Active department management actions — allocating department budgets, directing regulatory policy
• Department-specific influence actions (e.g., Secretary of Commerce can take actions affecting corporate metrics)
• Confirmed cabinet members may receive department-specific national influence generation each turn

Cabinet Vacancies

A cabinet position becomes vacant when:

• The Secretary resigns or is removed by the President
• The President is vacated (upon a new President taking office, all cabinet positions reset)
• An election cycle changes the White House party (standard practice: all secretaries submit resignation letters)

When vacant, the position is open for a new presidential nomination. The turn processor does not auto-fill cabinet positions — the President must actively nominate.

Strategic Considerations

For the President

• Fill critical positions first. Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense affect foreign policy events. Treasury and HHS matter for economic and healthcare metric events.
• Nominate allies. Cabinet members are among the most visible appointed officials. Placing political allies in these roles strengthens your faction and denies the seats to rivals.
• Watch for Senate blocking. If the opposing party holds the Senate, confirmation votes become the battlefield. See Confirmation Process.

For Senators

• Cabinet confirmation votes are a major source of legislative leverage. Blocking a cabinet nominee is one of the most effective tools of opposition politics.
• Vote trading — agreeing to confirm a nominee in exchange for Presidential support on a bill is a classic bargain.

For Cabinet Nominees

• Confirmation is not guaranteed. Your favorability, policy positions, and political connections all matter. Build Senate relationships before the President nominates you.

Related Pages

• Confirmation Process — How the Senate confirmation vote works
• Bills & Legislation — Cabinet bills in parliamentary systems
• Congress Leadership — The Senate Majority Leader's role in scheduling confirmation votes
• Government Formation — How the UK/JP Cabinet is appointed without a Senate confirmation step