United States Secretary of the Treasury

The United States secretary of the treasury is a member of the US president’s Cabinet and the head of the US Department of the Treasury. As a member of the president’s Cabinet, the secretary of the treasury is an advisor to the president. This individual is an important member of the Executive Branch and fifth in the line of presidential succession. As the head of the Department of the Treasury, the secretary oversees the fiscal policy of the United States and oversees the collection and distribution of government funds, tracks information about government spending, and ensures national security.

Background

The US president’s Cabinet is a group of individuals who advise the president. Article II Section 2 of the Constitution established the idea of the Cabinet. George Washington chose his first Cabinet in September 1789. Although Washington’s Cabinet was much smaller than modern presidential Cabinets, he did have a secretary of the treasury, Alexander Hamilton, who was an important advisor. Today’s secretary of the treasury is still a member of the Cabinet and an advisor to the president. He or she is also fifth in line for the presidency after the vice president, the speaker of the house, the president pro tempore of the Senate, and the secretary of state. Just as they were during Washington’s time, the members of the Cabinet are leaders in the Executive Branch of the government. They must be approved by the Senate because they are critical to the operation of the country. The members of the Cabinet help create the foreign and domestic policies of the Executive Branch.

Overview

The US Department of the Treasury is one of the oldest departments in the Executive Branch. The country’s first Congress convened in 1789, and one of the first pieces of legislation passed created the Department of the Treasury and the role of the secretary of the treasury, which the law said would be the head of the department.

Many important parts of the government, even those that are generally not thought of as dealing with finances, have been or are under the purview of the Department of the Treasury. For example, the Postal Service was part of this department until 1829. The General Land Office, which would eventually become the Department of the Interior, was also part of the Department of the Treasury from 1812 to 1849. Even the Secret Service, which did and still does trace money counterfeiting, was part of the Department of the Treasury until President Bush created the Department of Homeland Security in 2003.

The main task of the secretary of the treasury is to oversee the country’s fiscal policy. This is the policy that affects the taxing and spending of money. Fiscal policy is different from monetary policy, which influences interest rates and the total amount of available money. The Federal Reserve oversees the country’s monetary policy and issues paper money. However, even though the Federal Reserve issues money, the secretary of the treasury must sign the paper money for it to become legal tender. The US Mint, which is also part of the Department of the Treasury, makes the nation’s coins.

The secretary of the treasury has a number of required duties. The secretary oversees the dozens of offices that make up the Department of the Treasury. Through these offices, the secretary helps to oversee the collection of taxes and the distribution of government funds. The Department of the Treasury also investigates and prosecutes people who try to avoid paying taxes. Through these offices, the secretary is also supposed to help ensure a strong domestic economy through economic growth and job growth. The secretary of the treasury also has an important role to play in ensuring national security. The secretary must oversee economic and trade sanctions on foreign governments. These sanctions are carried out by a part of the Department of the Treasury called the Office of Foreign Assets Control. The secretary and the Department of the Treasury also help ensure national security by protecting financial systems in the United States. The secretary of the treasury must also publish certain information and reports to help keep the rest of the government and the public informed about government spending, government income, and other topics. As the head of the Department of the Treasury, the secretary oversees a roughly $1.3 trillion annual budget and between 100,000 and 115,000 employees.

The first secretary of the treasury was Alexander Hamilton, who served from 1789 to 1795. At the time, the young country had a great deal of debt because of the Revolutionary War, and Hamilton wanted the country to pay it back. Hamilton’s leadership helped the United States effectively deal with its financial burden.

Another famous secretary of the treasury was Salmon P. Chase, who served during the Civil War. One of Chase’s most important legacies as the secretary of the treasury was to create the Bureau of Internal Revenue in 1862. He also took out millions of dollars in loans from private banks to help the Union pay for the costs of the war. Today, the secretary of the treasury heads a massive department that includes many parts, such as the Bureau of Engraving & Printing, the US Mint, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Although dozens of individuals have served as secretary of the treasury throughout the years, they were all White men until the 2020s. Janet Yellen became the first female secretary of the treasury in 2021.

Bibliography

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