The Presidential Cabinet is made up of the different secretaries (called ministers in most other nations) of the departments of the executive branch. They provide expert testimony to members of Congress, debate different policies and strive to represent the President and strengthen their different bureaucracies. Members of the cabinet interact with the President on a regular basis, even providing him with final advice about whether he should veto legislation the Congress has passed.

Cabinet secretaries must confront the unique challenge of addressing a variety of problems from a specific viewpoint (for example, seeing immigration issues from the perspective of the Secretary of Transportation or the Attorney General). Typically experts in their field, they bring a wealth of knowledge and information to cabinet meetings; however, as political appointees rather than elected officials, the must also know when to agree with the President and when to take a stand to attempt to influence his opinions.

Cabinet conference materials can be found here.

How to prepare for the Presidential Cabinet:

• Read the Guide to the Constitution for an overview of the U.S. government. Also, read through the Guide to Partisanship and the Guide to Federalism. Concentrate on getting a broad understanding of how the government functions.

• Read through the Guide to Cabinet and the Guide to Cabinet Positions. We expect that you will have questions, so feel free to email Chris (christopherballesteros at gmail.com), the Harvard staffer who will be leading your committee.

• Look over the links at the bottom of this page to articles that provide further resources for researching your issues.

• Stay on top of current discussion of your issue in newspapers like the New York Times. If you find an article that is interesting or confusing, email Chris to let them know.

• Check out the Cabinet Pre-Conference assignment by clicking here.