United States Secretary of the Treasury Head of the United States Department of the Treasury
The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury , and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States . The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters pertaining to economic and fiscal policy. The secretary is, by custom, a member of the president's cabinet and, by law, a member of the National Security Council ,[ 4] and fifth in the U.S. presidential line of succession .
Under the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution , the officeholder is nominated by the president of the United States, and, following a confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Finance , will take the office if confirmed by the majority of the full United States Senate .
The secretary of state , the secretary of the treasury, the secretary of defense , and the attorney general are generally regarded as the four most important Cabinet officials, due to the size and importance of their respective departments.[ 5]
The current secretary of the treasury is Janet Yellen , who is the first woman to hold the office.[ 6] [ 7]
Powers and functions
The Secretary is responsible for formulating and recommending domestic and international financial, economic, and tax policy, participating in the formulation of broad fiscal policies that have general significance for the economy, and managing the public debt. The Secretary oversees the activities of the Department in carrying out its major law enforcement responsibilities; in serving as the financial agent for the United States Government ; and in manufacturing coins and currency .
The Chief Financial Officer of the government, the Secretary serves as Chairman Pro Tempore of the President's Economic Policy Council, Chairman of the Boards and Managing Trustee of the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds, and as U.S. Governor of the International Monetary Fund , the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development , the Inter-American Development Bank , the Asian Development Bank , and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development .
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U.S. Department of the Treasury Web site[ 8]
The secretary along with the treasurer of the United States must sign Federal Reserve notes before they can become legal tender .[ 9] The secretary also manages the United States Emergency Economic Stabilization fund .[ 10]
Salary
The secretary of the treasury is a Level I position in the Executive Schedule ,[ 3] thus earning the salary prescribed for that level (US$ 246,400, as of January 2024).[ 11]
List of secretaries of the treasury
The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury , and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States . The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters pertaining to economic and fiscal policy. The secretary is, by custom, a member of the president's cabinet and, by law, a member of the National Security Council .[ 12]
Under the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution , the officeholder is nominated by the president of the United States, and, following a confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Finance , is confirmed by the United States Senate .
Parties
Federalist (4)
Democratic-Republican (4)
Democratic (30)
Whig (5)
Republican (34)
Independent (1)
Status
Denotes an
acting secretary of the treasury
No.
Portrait
Name
State of residence
Took office
Left office
President(s)
1
Alexander Hamilton
New York
September 11, 1789
January 31, 1795
George Washington (1789–1797)
2
Oliver Wolcott Jr.
Connecticut
February 3, 1795
December 31, 1800
John Adams (1797–1801)
3
Samuel Dexter
Massachusetts
January 1, 1801
May 13, 1801
Thomas Jefferson (1801–1809)
4
Albert Gallatin
Pennsylvania
May 14, 1801
February 8, 1814
James Madison (1809–1817)
5
George W. Campbell
Tennessee
February 9, 1814
October 5, 1814
6
Alexander Dallas
Pennsylvania
October 6, 1814
October 21, 1816
–
William Jones Acting [ a]
Pennsylvania
October 21, 1816
October 22, 1816
7
William H. Crawford
Georgia
October 22, 1816
March 6, 1825
James Monroe (1817–1825)
8
Richard Rush
Pennsylvania
March 7, 1825
March 5, 1829
John Quincy Adams (1825–1829)
9
Samuel D. Ingham
Pennsylvania
March 6, 1829
June 20, 1831
Andrew Jackson (1829–1837)
10
Louis McLane
Delaware
August 8, 1831
May 28, 1833
11
William J. Duane
Pennsylvania
May 29, 1833
September 22, 1833
12
Roger B. Taney
Maryland
September 23, 1833
June 25, 1834
13
Levi Woodbury
New Hampshire
July 1, 1834
March 3, 1841
Martin Van Buren (1837–1841)
14
Thomas Ewing
Ohio
March 4, 1841
September 11, 1841
William Henry Harrison (1841)
John Tyler (1841–1845)
15
Walter Forward
Pennsylvania
September 13, 1841
March 1, 1843
16
John Canfield Spencer
New York
March 8, 1843
May 2, 1844
17
George M. Bibb
Kentucky
July 4, 1844
March 7, 1845
18
Robert J. Walker
Mississippi
March 8, 1845
March 5, 1849
James K. Polk (1845–1849)
19
William M. Meredith
Pennsylvania
March 8, 1849
July 22, 1850
Zachary Taylor (1849–1850)
20
Thomas Corwin
Ohio
July 23, 1850
March 6, 1853
Millard Fillmore (1850–1853)
21
James Guthrie
Kentucky
March 7, 1853
March 6, 1857
Franklin Pierce (1853–1857)
22
Howell Cobb
Georgia
March 7, 1857
December 8, 1860
James Buchanan (1857–1861)
23
Philip Francis Thomas
Maryland
December 12, 1860
January 14, 1861
24
John Adams Dix
New York
January 15, 1861
March 6, 1861
25
Salmon P. Chase
Ohio
March 7, 1861
June 30, 1864
Abraham Lincoln (1861–1865)
26
William P. Fessenden
Maine
July 5, 1864
March 3, 1865
27
Hugh McCulloch
Indiana
March 9, 1865
March 3, 1869
Andrew Johnson (1865–1869)
28
George S. Boutwell
Massachusetts
March 12, 1869
March 16, 1873
Ulysses S. Grant (1869–1877)
29
William Adams Richardson
Massachusetts
March 17, 1873
June 3, 1874
30
Benjamin Bristow
Kentucky
June 4, 1874
June 20, 1876
31
Lot M. Morrill
Maine
July 7, 1876
March 9, 1877
32
John Sherman
Ohio
March 10, 1877
March 3, 1881
Rutherford B. Hayes (1877–1881)
33
William Windom
Minnesota
March 8, 1881
November 13, 1881
James A. Garfield (1881)
Chester A. Arthur (1881–1885)
34
Charles J. Folger
New York
November 14, 1881
September 4, 1884
35
Walter Q. Gresham
Indiana
September 5, 1884
October 30, 1884
36
Hugh McCulloch
Indiana
October 31, 1884
March 7, 1885
37
Daniel Manning
New York
March 8, 1885
March 31, 1887
Grover Cleveland (1885–1889)
38
Charles S. Fairchild
New York
April 1, 1887
March 6, 1889
39
William Windom
Minnesota
March 7, 1889
January 29, 1891
Benjamin Harrison (1889–1893)
40
Charles Foster
Ohio
February 25, 1891
March 6, 1893
41
John G. Carlisle
Kentucky
March 7, 1893
March 5, 1897
Grover Cleveland (1893–1897)
42
Lyman J. Gage
Illinois
March 6, 1897
January 31, 1902
William McKinley (1897–1901)
Theodore Roosevelt (1901–1909)
43
L. M. Shaw
Iowa
February 1, 1902
March 3, 1907
44
George B. Cortelyou
New York
March 4, 1907
March 7, 1909
45
Franklin MacVeagh
Illinois
March 8, 1909
March 5, 1913
William Howard Taft (1909–1913)
46
William Gibbs McAdoo
New York
March 6, 1913
December 15, 1918
Woodrow Wilson (1913–1921)
47
Carter Glass
Virginia
December 16, 1918
February 1, 1920
48
David F. Houston
Missouri
February 2, 1920
March 3, 1921
49
Andrew Mellon
Pennsylvania
March 4, 1921
February 12, 1932
Warren G. Harding (1921–1923)
Calvin Coolidge (1923–1929)
Herbert Hoover (1929–1933)
50
Ogden L. Mills
New York
February 13, 1932
March 4, 1933
51
William H. Woodin
New York
March 5, 1933
December 31, 1933
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945)
52
Henry Morgenthau Jr.
New York
January 1, 1934
July 22, 1945
53
Fred M. Vinson
Kentucky
July 23, 1945
June 23, 1946
Harry S. Truman (1945–1953)
54
John Wesley Snyder
Missouri
June 25, 1946
January 20, 1953
55
George M. Humphrey
Ohio
January 21, 1953
July 29, 1957
Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961)
56
Robert Anderson
Connecticut
July 29, 1957
January 20, 1961
57
C. Douglas Dillon
New Jersey
January 21, 1961
April 1, 1965
John F. Kennedy (1961–1963)
Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969)
58
Henry H. Fowler
Virginia
April 1, 1965
December 20, 1968
59
Joseph W. Barr
Indiana
December 21, 1968
January 20, 1969
60
David Kennedy
Utah
January 22, 1969
February 10, 1971
Richard Nixon (1969–1974)
61
John Connally
Texas
February 11, 1971
June 12, 1972
62
George Shultz
Illinois
June 12, 1972
May 8, 1974
63
William E. Simon
New Jersey
May 8, 1974
January 20, 1977
Gerald Ford (1974–1977)
64
W. Michael Blumenthal
Michigan
January 23, 1977
August 4, 1979
Jimmy Carter (1977–1981)
65
G. William Miller
Rhode Island
August 7, 1979
January 20, 1981
66
Donald Regan
New Jersey
January 22, 1981
February 1, 1985
Ronald Reagan (1981–1989)
67
James Baker
Texas
February 4, 1985
August 17, 1988
–
M. Peter McPherson Acting [ b]
Michigan
August 17, 1988
September 15, 1988
68
Nicholas F. Brady
New Jersey
September 15, 1988
January 17, 1993
George H. W. Bush (1989–1993)
69
Lloyd Bentsen
Texas
January 20, 1993
December 22, 1994
Bill Clinton (1993–2001)
–
Frank N. Newman Acting [ b]
Massachusetts
December 22, 1994
January 11, 1995
70
Robert Rubin
New York
January 11, 1995
July 2, 1999
71
Lawrence Summers
Massachusetts
July 2, 1999
January 20, 2001
72
Paul H. O'Neill
Pennsylvania
January 20, 2001
December 31, 2002
George W. Bush (2001–2009)
–
Kenneth W. Dam Acting [ b]
Illinois
December 31, 2002
February 3, 2003
73
John W. Snow
Virginia
February 3, 2003
June 30, 2006
–
Robert M. Kimmitt Acting [ b]
Virginia
June 30, 2006
July 10, 2006
74
Henry Paulson
Illinois
July 10, 2006
January 20, 2009
–
Stuart A. Levey Acting [ c]
Ohio
January 20, 2009
January 26, 2009
Barack Obama (2009–2017)
75
Timothy Geithner
New York
January 26, 2009
January 25, 2013
–
Neal S. Wolin Acting [ b]
Illinois
January 25, 2013
February 28, 2013
76
Jack Lew
New York
February 28, 2013
January 20, 2017
–
Adam Szubin Acting [ c]
Washington, D.C.
January 20, 2017
February 13, 2017
Donald Trump (2017–2021)
77
Steven Mnuchin
California
February 13, 2017
January 20, 2021
–
Andy Baukol Acting [ d]
Virginia
January 20, 2021
January 26, 2021
Joe Biden (2021–2025 )
78
Janet Yellen
California
January 26, 2021
Incumbent
Former flag of the Secretary of the Treasury, originating from the 19th century.
Succession
Presidential succession
The secretary of the treasury is fifth in the presidential line of succession , following the secretary of state and preceding the secretary of defense .[ 1]
Succession within the Department
On August 16, 2016, President Barack Obama signed Executive Order 13735, which changed the order of succession for filling the Treasury Secretary's role when necessary. At any time when the secretary and the deputy secretary of the treasury have both died, resigned, or cannot serve as secretary for other reasons, the order designates which Treasury officers are next in line to serve as acting secretary.
The order of succession is:[ 13]
Notes
References
^ a b "3 U.S. Code § 19 – Vacancy in offices of both President and Vice President; officers eligible to act" . LII / Legal Information Institute . Archived from the original on December 26, 2018. Retrieved February 4, 2017 .
^ 31 U.S.C. § 301
^ a b 5 U.S.C. § 5312
^ 50 U.S.C. §§ 3021 –Security Council National Security Council
^ Cabinets and Counselors: The President and the Executive Branch (1997). Congressional Quarterly . p. 87.
^ "Janet L. Yellen Sworn In As 78th Secretary of the United States Department of the Treasury" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Treasury. January 26, 2021. Archived from the original on January 27, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2021 .
^ Tappe, Anneken; Egan, Matt (January 25, 2021). "Janet Yellen is confirmed as the first female Treasury secretary in US history" . CNN . Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved January 26, 2021 .
^ "Duties & Functions: Secretaries of the Treasury" . United States Department of the Treasury . Archived from the original on November 19, 2010. Retrieved November 30, 2012 .
^ Rappeport, Alan (December 8, 2022). "Yellen Is First Female Treasury Secretary With Signature on U.S. Dollar" . The New York Times . Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022 . By tradition, the treasurer must sign the money along with the Treasury secretary. Both signatures are engraved onto plates at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, where they are printed and submitted to the Federal Reserve, which determines what currency will be added to circulation.
^ 12 U.S.C. § 5211 : Purchases of troubled assets
^ "Salary Table No. 2021-EX Rates of Basic Pay for the Executive Schedule (EX)" (PDF) .
^ 50 U.S.C. §§ 3021 –Security Council National Security Council
^ "Executive Order on Providing an Order of Succession within the Department of the Treasury" . August 16, 2016. Archived from the original on September 25, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2022 . This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
External links
Links to related articles
* Ineligible to
act as president • ** Ambiguity exists concerning eligibility to act as president