Q: Can you tell me how many of President Obama’s Cabinet have resigned, quit or have been fired during his administration?
—Patricia Lyons, Cumming
A: With the recent resignation of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki and departure this spring of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius (both had served since 2009), only four of Obama's original 15 department heads remain.
Those individuals include: Attorney General Eric Holder, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. But some positions have turned over more than once during Obama’s presidency, so it appears that 13 Cabinet members have vacated their positions (this does not include positions that are Cabinet-rank, but not officially in the Cabinet).
Several departures occurred in 2013, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner, former Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, former Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and former Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis. In 2012, John Bryson resigned as Secretary of Commerce, which marked the third individual – following Gary Locke (Secretary of Commerce) and Robert Gates (Secretary of Defense) – to leave Obama’s Cabinet.
A study by Smart Politics, a non-partisan political news site, found that three former Cabinet members – Shinseki, Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano – recorded the longest tenures as leaders of their departments, and current Cabinet members Donovan and Duncan are the second-longest serving heads of their departments.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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