U.S. Presidency

The Executive Branch includes the President, Vice President, the Cabinet, the Executive Office of the President, Executive Departments, and Independent Establishments and Government Corporations. This guide briefly mentions the role of the Vice President, and the structure of the Cabinet, the Executive Office of the President, and the Executive Departments and their agencies.

The Constitution refers to the role of the Vice President in two articles: Article I and Article II.^ 

For more information:

• About the Vice President (President of the Senate) | U.S. Senate
• About the Vice President (Vice Presidents of the United States) |  U.S. Senate
• ^The Vice President | The United States Government Manual

The purpose of the Cabinet is to “advise the President on any subject he or she may require relating to the duties of each member’s respective office.”^ Members of the Cabinet include the 

• Vice President
• Secretaries of the Executive Departments
• Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
• Director of National Intelligence
• U.S. Trade Representative
• U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
• Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors
• Administrator of the Small Business Administration
• Director of the Office of Management and Budget
• Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy
• Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
• Chief of Staff

^The Cabinet

This office is headed by the Chief of Staff. Currently, there are 17 councils and offices, including the Domestic Policy Council, Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, and Office of the National Cyber Director.

Currently, there are 15 Executive Departments. The general structure of an Executive Departments is the following:

• Department
  • Agency
    • Sub-Agency or Bureau
      • (Etc. depending on each department's structure)

The listed terms, however, can vary. Sometimes they are used interchangeably. In addition, Government entities may change, cease to exist, or be created over time. For example, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was established in 2002.