Edmund Randolph (left) and Patricia Roberts Harris (right) are, respectively, the first person ever and the first woman to serve in multiple Cabinet positions.

The Cabinet of the United States, which is the principal advisory body to the president of the United States, has had numerous permanent members serve as heads of multiple different federal executive departments, along with the vice president or other cabinet-level positions, which can differ under each president. As the years progressed, some departments lost their original status in the president's cabinet, while other offices were established or reorganized as such. Unlike in many parliamentary cabinets, it is generally less common in the United States for officeholders to obtain multiple positions over the years.

Edmund Randolph became the first person to have served in two different presidential cabinet posts when he was appointed secretary of state by President George Washington in 1794 after previously serving as attorney general during Washington's first term in office. Patricia Roberts Harris was the first woman and the first person of color to serve multiple posts in a president's cabinet when President Jimmy Carter appointed her secretary of health and human services^[a] in 1979, having earlier served as secretary of housing and urban development through the first half of Carter's administration.

Elliot Richardson held the most different positions within the presidential cabinet with four, having served as secretary of health, education, and welfare;^[a] secretary of defense; and attorney general, all three under President Richard Nixon, as well as secretary of commerce for Nixon's successor, Gerald Ford.^[1] That record was equaled by George Shultz, who served successively within the Nixon administration—first as secretary of labor, then in a cabinet-rank position as director of the Office of Management and Budget, and finally as secretary of the treasury—before being appointed secretary of state under President Ronald Reagan.^[2]

List of multiple cabinet-level officeholders

The following list includes people who have led two or more different executive departments or other cabinet-level offices, which can vary under each president. The table below is organized by date of second appointment or election to such a position. Officeholders whose terms begin the same day are ranked alphabetically by last name.

No.	Image	Name	Office	Took office	Left office
1		Edmund Randolph	Attorney General	September 26, 1789	January 26, 1794
			Secretary of State	January 2, 1794	August 20, 1795
2		Timothy Pickering	Secretary of War	January 2, 1795	December 10, 1795
			Secretary of State	December 10, 1795	May 12, 1800
3		Samuel Dexter	Secretary of War	June 1, 1800	January 31, 1801
			Secretary of the Treasury	January 1, 1801	May 13, 1801
4		Robert Smith	Secretary of the Navy	July 27, 1801	March 4, 1809
			Secretary of State	March 6, 1809	April 1, 1811
5		James Monroe	Secretary of State	April 6, 1811	March 4, 1817
			Secretary of War	September 27, 1814	March 2, 1815
6		William H. Crawford	Secretary of War	August 1, 1815	October 22, 1816
			Secretary of the Treasury	October 22, 1816	March 6, 1825
7		Richard Rush	Attorney General	February 10, 1814	November 12, 1817
			Secretary of the Treasury	March 7, 1825	March 5, 1829
8		Louis McLane	Secretary of the Treasury	August 8, 1831	May 29, 1833
			Secretary of State	May 29, 1833	June 30, 1834
9		Roger B. Taney	Attorney General	July 20, 1831	November 14, 1833
			Secretary of the Treasury	September 23, 1833	June 25, 1834
10		Levi Woodbury	Secretary of the Navy	May 23, 1831	June 30, 1834
			Secretary of the Treasury	July 1, 1834	March 4, 1841
11		Abel P. Upshur	Secretary of the Navy	October 11, 1841	July 23, 1843
			Secretary of State	July 24, 1843	February 28, 1844
12		John C. Calhoun	Secretary of War	December 8, 1817	March 4, 1825
			Secretary of State	April 1, 1844	March 10, 1845
13		John Y. Mason	Secretary of the Navy	March 26, 1844	March 4, 1845
				September 10, 1846	March 4, 1849
			Attorney General	March 5, 1845	October 16, 1846
14		Thomas Ewing	Secretary of the Treasury	March 4, 1841	September 11, 1841
			Secretary of the Interior	March 8, 1849	July 22, 1850
15		William L. Marcy	Secretary of War	March 6, 1845	March 4, 1849
			Secretary of State	March 7, 1853	March 6, 1857
16		Lewis Cass	Secretary of War	August 1, 1831	October 4, 1836
			Secretary of State	March 6, 1857	December 14, 1860
17		Isaac Toucey	Attorney General	June 21, 1848	March 3, 1849
			Secretary of the Navy	March 7, 1857	March 4, 1861
18		Jeremiah S. Black	Attorney General	March 6, 1857	December 16, 1860
			Secretary of State	December 17, 1860	March 5, 1861
19		Joseph Holt	Postmaster General	March 9, 1859	December 31, 1860
			Secretary of War	January 18, 1861	March 5, 1861
20		Edwin Stanton	Attorney General	December 20, 1860	March 4, 1861
			Secretary of War	January 20, 1862	May 28, 1868
21		Alphonso Taft	Secretary of War	March 8, 1876	May 22, 1876
			Attorney General	May 22, 1876	March 4, 1877
22		William M. Evarts	Attorney General	July 17, 1868	March 4, 1869
			Secretary of State	March 12, 1877	March 7, 1881
23		Walter Q. Gresham	Postmaster General	April 9, 1883	September 4, 1884
			Secretary of the Treasury	September 5, 1884	October 28, 1884
			Secretary of State	March 7, 1893	May 28, 1895
24		William Freeman Vilas	Postmaster General	March 6, 1885	January 6, 1888
			Secretary of the Interior	January 16, 1888	March 6, 1889
25		Richard Olney	Attorney General	March 6, 1893	June 10, 1895
			Secretary of State	June 10, 1895	March 5, 1897
26		John Sherman	Secretary of the Treasury	March 10, 1877	March 3, 1881
			Secretary of State	March 6, 1897	April 27, 1898
27		William Henry Moody	Secretary of the Navy	May 1, 1902	June 30, 1904
			Attorney General	July 1, 1904	December 12, 1906
28		Elihu Root	Secretary of War	August 1, 1899	January 31, 1904
			Secretary of State	July 19, 1905	January 27, 1909
29		Charles Joseph Bonaparte	Secretary of the Navy	July 1, 1905	December 16, 1906
			Attorney General	December 17, 1906	March 4, 1909
30		Victor H. Metcalf	Secretary of Commerce and Labor[b]	July 1, 1904	December 16, 1906
			Secretary of the Navy	December 17, 1906	November 30, 1908
31		George B. Cortelyou	Secretary of Commerce and Labor[b]	February 18, 1903	June 30, 1904
			Postmaster General	March 6, 1905	January 14, 1907
			Secretary of the Treasury	March 4, 1907	March 7, 1909
32		Philander C. Knox	Attorney General	April 5, 1901	June 30, 1904
			Secretary of State	March 6, 1909	March 5, 1913
32		George von Lengerke Meyer	Postmaster General	January 15, 1907	March 4, 1909
			Secretary of the Navy	March 6, 1909	March 4, 1913
34		David F. Houston	Secretary of Agriculture	March 6, 1913	February 2, 1920
			Secretary of the Treasury	February 2, 1920	March 3, 1921
35		Hubert Work	Postmaster General	March 4, 1922	March 4, 1923
			Secretary of the Interior	March 4, 1923	July 24, 1928
36		Henry L. Stimson	Secretary of War	May 22, 1911	May 4, 1913
				July 10, 1940	September 21, 1945
			Secretary of State	March 28, 1929	March 4, 1933
37		Henry A. Wallace	Secretary of Agriculture	March 4, 1933	September 4, 1940
			Vice President	January 20, 1941	January 20, 1945
			Secretary of Commerce	March 2, 1945	September 20, 1946
38		James Forrestal	Secretary of the Navy	May 19, 1944	September 17, 1947
			Secretary of Defense	September 17, 1947	March 28, 1949
39		Kenneth Claiborne Royall	Secretary of War	July 19, 1947	September 18, 1947
			Secretary of the Army	September 18, 1947	April 27, 1949
40		George Marshall	Secretary of State	January 21, 1947	January 20, 1949
			Secretary of Defense	September 21, 1950	September 12, 1951
41		Arthur Goldberg	Secretary of Labor	January 21, 1961	September 20, 1962
			United States Ambassador to the United Nations	July 28, 1965	June 24, 1968
42		Maurice Stans	Director of the Bureau of the Budget	March 18, 1958	January 21, 1961
			Secretary of Commerce	January 21, 1969	February 15, 1972
43		William P. Rogers	Attorney General	October 23, 1957	January 20, 1961
			Secretary of State	January 22, 1969	September 3, 1973
44		Robert Finch	Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare[a]	January 21, 1969	June 23, 1970
			Counselor to the President	June 23, 1970	December 15, 1972
45		George Shultz	Secretary of Labor	January 22, 1969	July 1, 1970
			Director of the Management and Budget	July 1, 1970	June 11, 1972
			Secretary of the Treasury	June 12, 1972	May 8, 1974
			Secretary of State	July 16, 1982	January 20, 1989
46		Caspar Weinberger	Director of the Management and Budget	June 12, 1972	February 1, 1973
			Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare[a]	February 12, 1973	August 8, 1975
			Secretary of Defense	January 21, 1981	November 23, 1987
47		Elliot Richardson	Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare[a]	June 24, 1970	January 29, 1973
			Secretary of Defense	January 30, 1973	May 24, 1973
			Attorney General	May 25, 1973	October 20, 1973
			Secretary of Commerce	February 2, 1976	January 20, 1977
48		Donald Rumsfeld	Counselor to the President	December 11, 1970	October 15, 1971
			White House Chief of Staff	September 21, 1974	November 20, 1975
			Secretary of Defense	November 20, 1975	January 20, 1977
				January 20, 2001	December 18, 2006
49		James Thomas Lynn	Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	February 2, 1973	February 5, 1975
			Director of the Management and Budget	February 10, 1975	January 20, 1977
50		Frederick B. Dent	Secretary of Commerce	February 2, 1973	March 26, 1975
			United States Trade Representative	March 26, 1975	January 20, 1977
51		Rogers Morton	Secretary of the Interior	January 29, 1971	April 30, 1975
			Secretary of Commerce	May 1, 1975	February 2, 1976
			Counselor to the President	February 2, 1976	April 1, 1976
52		Daniel Patrick Moynihan	Counselor to the President	November 5, 1969	December 31, 1970
			United States Ambassador to the United Nations	June 30, 1975	February 2, 1976
53		James R. Schlesinger	Secretary of Defense	July 2, 1973	November 19, 1975
			Secretary of Energy	August 9, 1977	August 23, 1979
54		Patricia Roberts Harris	Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	January 23, 1977	September 10, 1979
			Secretary of Health and Human Services[a]	August 3, 1979	January 20, 1981
55		George H. W. Bush	United States Ambassador to the United Nations	March 1, 1971	January 18, 1973
			Vice President	January 20, 1981	January 20, 1989
56		Alexander Haig	White House Chief of Staff	May 4, 1973	September 21, 1974
			Secretary of State	January 22, 1981	July 5, 1982
57		Donald P. Hodel	Secretary of Energy	November 5, 1982	February 7, 1985
			Secretary of the Interior	February 8, 1985	January 20, 1989
58		Edwin Meese	Counselor to the President	January 20, 1981	February 25, 1985
			Attorney General	February 25, 1985	August 12, 1988
59		Bill Brock	United States Trade Representative	January 23, 1981	April 29, 1985
			Secretary of Labor	April 29, 1985	October 31, 1987
60		James Baker	Secretary of the Treasury	February 4, 1985	August 17, 1988
			Secretary of State	January 25, 1989	August 23, 1992
			White House Chief of Staff	August 24, 1992	January 20, 1993
61		Elizabeth Dole	Secretary of Transportation	February 7, 1983	September 30, 1987
			Secretary of Labor	January 25, 1989	November 23, 1990
62		Carla Anderson Hills	Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	March 10, 1975	January 20, 1977
			United States Trade Representative	February 6, 1989	January 20, 1993
63		Clayton Yeutter	United States Trade Representative	July 1, 1985	January 20, 1989
			Secretary of Agriculture	February 16, 1989	March 1, 1991
			Counselor to the President	February 1, 1992	January 20, 1993
64		Dick Cheney	White House Chief of Staff	November 21, 1975	January 20, 1977
			Secretary of Defense	March 21, 1989	January 20, 1993
			Vice President	January 20, 2001	January 20, 2009
65		Leon Panetta	Director of the Management and Budget	January 21, 1993	July 17, 1994
			White House Chief of Staff	July 17, 1994	January 20, 1997
			Secretary of Defense	July 1, 2011	February 26, 2013
66		Mickey Kantor	United States Trade Representative	January 21, 1993	April 12, 1996
			Secretary of Commerce	April 12, 1996	January 21, 1997
67		Erskine Bowles	Administrator of the Small Business Administration	May 7, 1993	October 3, 1994
			White House Chief of Staff	January 20, 1997	October 20, 1998
68		Madeleine Albright	United States Ambassador to the United Nations	January 27, 1993	January 21, 1997
			Secretary of State	January 23, 1997	January 20, 2001
69		Federico Peña	Secretary of Transportation	January 21, 1993	February 14, 1997
			Secretary of Energy	March 12, 1997	June 30, 1998
70		Bill Richardson	United States Ambassador to the United Nations	February 18, 1997	August 18, 1998
			Secretary of Energy	August 18, 1998	January 20, 2001
71		Andrew Card	Secretary of Transportation	February 24, 1992	January 20, 1993
			White House Chief of Staff	January 20, 2001	April 14, 2006
72		Norman Mineta	Secretary of Commerce	July 20, 2000	January 20, 2001
			Secretary of Transportation	January 25, 2001	July 7, 2006
73		Mike Leavitt	Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency	November 6, 2003	January 26, 2005
			Secretary of Health and Human Services	January 26, 2005	January 20, 2009
74		Joshua Bolten	Director of the Management and Budget	June 6, 2003	April 14, 2006
			White House Chief of Staff	April 14, 2006	January 20, 2009
75		Rob Portman	United States Trade Representative	May 17, 2005	May 29, 2006
			Director of the Management and Budget	May 29, 2006	June 19, 2007
76		William M. Daley	Secretary of Commerce	January 30, 1997	July 19, 2000
			White House Chief of Staff	January 13, 2011	January 27, 2012
77		Jack Lew	Director of the Management and Budget	May 21, 1998	January 19, 2001
			White House Chief of Staff	January 27, 2012	January 20, 2013
			Secretary of the Treasury	February 28, 2013	January 20, 2017
78		Sylvia Mathews Burwell	Director of the Management and Budget	April 24, 2013	June 9, 2014
			Secretary of Health and Human Services	June 9, 2014	January 20, 2017
79		Shaun Donovan	Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	January 26, 2009	July 28, 2014
			Director of the Management and Budget	August 5, 2014	January 20, 2017
80		Elaine Chao	Secretary of Labor	January 29, 2001	January 20, 2009
			Secretary of Transportation	January 31, 2017	January 11, 2021
81		John F. Kelly	Secretary of Homeland Security	January 20, 2017	July 31, 2017
			White House Chief of Staff	July 31, 2017	January 2, 2019
82		Mike Pompeo	Director of the Central Intelligence Agency	January 23, 2017	April 26, 2018
			Secretary of State	April 26, 2018	January 20, 2021
83		Janet Yellen	Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers	February 18, 1997	August 3, 1999
			Secretary of the Treasury	January 26, 2021	Incumbent
84		Denis McDonough	White House Chief of Staff	January 20, 2013	January 20, 2017
			Secretary of Veterans Affairs	February 9, 2021	Incumbent

Former permanent Cabinet members

• The Secretary of War became defunct when the Department of War was split between the Department of the Army and the Department of the Air Force by the National Security Act of 1947, and both were absorbed into the Department of Defense in 1949.
• The Postmaster General ceased to be a member of the Cabinet when the Post Office Department was re-organized into the United States Postal Service (USPS) by the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, a special agency independent of the executive branch.
• The Secretary of the Army, Secretary of the Navy, and the Secretary of the Air Force ceased to be members of the Cabinet when their particular departments was absorbed into the Department of Defense in 1949.