What article in the constitution is the basis for creating the president's cabinet?

Answer 1

Article2, Section 2, Clause 1, says in part, the President " may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices,"

The President is the boss of the heads of all the civilian departments of government; the bit here about requiring their written opinions provides the constitutional basis for the cabinet.

Clause2 says in part , President "shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint ... other public Ministers and... all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers... in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments."

This gives the Prez the power to nominate all appointed officials of the government, including officers of the executive branch, he needs to receive the "advice and consent" of the Senate in doing so. Today that means a majority-vote approval of his nominees.

Those two clauses are the Constitutional *basis* for the Cabinet. Note that the Constitution does not actually mention a Cabinet as such, the framers were practical men and knew neither the President nor Congress could deal with all the day to day details of executing all the duties of the executive branch. They knew, from examples in other governments, that there needed to be "Departments" with separate duties in specific areas, the treasury should not be controlled by the War Department for example. The Constitution does not list the departments, at the time no one was sure exactly what departments would be needed or what their areas of concern would be, and they fore saw the need for changes in those areas or even new departments. So the Constitution allows for establishment of Departments and changes to made "by laws." The Cabinet has evolved over time, as well as their separate duties, the heads of Departments, Secretaries, act as a combined advisory board to the Prez on matters concerning the entire nation. A wise Pez nominates people who are experts in their department but also wise in other matters.

The establishment of a Cabinet as a board or committee as a whole, or even as a group of secretaries with separate duties, is an implied power, not specifically mentioned or permiited, but also not prohibited. And from the context of the clauses, and comparable systems in other governments, something that was assumed to be neccassary and natural for government to function.

Answer 2

The constitution gives the president the authority to appoint officers. The president is thus able to appoint people to his cabinet to assist him in the task of executing the laws.

Answer 3

Nothing in the Constitution specifically authorizes the creation of a cabinet.