United States Secretary 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]

United States Secretary of the Treasury
Flag of the secretary
Incumbent
Janet Yellen
since January 26, 2021
United States Department of the Treasury
StyleMadam Secretary (informal)
The Honorable (formal)
Member ofCabinet of the United States
United States National Security Council
Reports toPresident of the United States
SeatTreasury Building
Washington, D.C.
AppointerPresident of the United States
with Senate advice and consent
Term lengthNo fixed term
Constituting instrument31 U.S.C. § 301
PrecursorSuperintendent of Finance
FormationSeptember 11, 1789; 234 years ago (1789-09-11)
First holderAlexander Hamilton
SuccessionFifth[1]
DeputyUnited States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury[2]
SalaryExecutive Schedule, Level I[3]
Websitetreasury.gov

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.

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.

— 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.PortraitNameState of residenceTook officeLeft officePresident(s)
1 Alexander HamiltonNew YorkSeptember 11, 1789January 31, 1795George Washington
2 Oliver Wolcott Jr.ConnecticutFebruary 3, 1795December 31, 1800
John Adams
3 Samuel DexterMassachusettsJanuary 1, 1801May 13, 1801
Thomas Jefferson
4 Albert GallatinPennsylvaniaMay 14, 1801February 8, 1814James Madison
5 George W. CampbellTennesseeFebruary 9, 1814October 5, 1814
6 Alexander J. DallasPennsylvaniaOctober 6, 1814October 21, 1816
William Jones
Acting[a]
PennsylvaniaOctober 21, 1816October 22, 1816
7 William H. CrawfordGeorgiaOctober 22, 1816March 6, 1825
James Monroe
8 Richard RushPennsylvaniaMarch 7, 1825March 5, 1829John Quincy Adams
9 Samuel D. InghamPennsylvaniaMarch 6, 1829June 20, 1831Andrew Jackson
10 Louis McLaneDelawareAugust 8, 1831May 28, 1833
11 William J. DuanePennsylvaniaMay 29, 1833September 22, 1833
12 Roger B. TaneyMarylandSeptember 23, 1833June 25, 1834
13 Levi WoodburyNew HampshireJuly 1, 1834March 3, 1841
Martin Van Buren
14 Thomas EwingOhioMarch 4, 1841September 11, 1841William Henry Harrison
John Tyler
15 Walter ForwardPennsylvaniaSeptember 13, 1841March 1, 1843
16 John Canfield SpencerNew YorkMarch 8, 1843May 2, 1844
17 George M. BibbKentuckyJuly 4, 1844March 7, 1845
18 Robert J. WalkerMississippiMarch 8, 1845March 5, 1849James K. Polk
19 William M. MeredithPennsylvaniaMarch 8, 1849July 22, 1850Zachary Taylor
20 Thomas CorwinOhioJuly 23, 1850March 6, 1853Millard Fillmore
21 James GuthrieKentuckyMarch 7, 1853March 6, 1857Franklin Pierce
22 Howell CobbGeorgiaMarch 7, 1857December 8, 1860James Buchanan
23 Philip Francis ThomasMarylandDecember 12, 1860January 14, 1861
24 John Adams DixNew YorkJanuary 15, 1861March 6, 1861
25 Salmon P. ChaseOhioMarch 7, 1861June 30, 1864Abraham Lincoln
26 William P. FessendenMaineJuly 5, 1864March 3, 1865
27 Hugh McCullochIndianaMarch 9, 1865March 3, 1869
Andrew Johnson
28 George S. BoutwellMassachusettsMarch 12, 1869March 16, 1873Ulysses S. Grant
29 William Adams RichardsonMassachusettsMarch 17, 1873June 3, 1874
30 Benjamin BristowKentuckyJune 4, 1874June 20, 1876
31 Lot M. MorrillMaineJuly 7, 1876March 9, 1877
32 John ShermanOhioMarch 10, 1877March 3, 1881Rutherford B. Hayes
33 William WindomMinnesotaMarch 8, 1881November 13, 1881James A. Garfield
Chester A. Arthur
34 Charles J. FolgerNew YorkNovember 14, 1881September 4, 1884
35 Walter Q. GreshamIndianaSeptember 5, 1884October 30, 1884
36 Hugh McCullochIndianaOctober 31, 1884March 7, 1885
37 Daniel ManningNew YorkMarch 8, 1885March 31, 1887Grover Cleveland
38 Charles S. FairchildNew YorkApril 1, 1887March 6, 1889
39 William WindomMinnesotaMarch 7, 1889January 29, 1891Benjamin Harrison
40 Charles FosterOhioFebruary 25, 1891March 6, 1893
41 John G. CarlisleKentuckyMarch 7, 1893March 5, 1897Grover Cleveland
42 Lyman J. GageIllinoisMarch 6, 1897January 31, 1902William McKinley
Theodore Roosevelt
43 L. M. ShawIowaFebruary 1, 1902March 3, 1907
44 George B. CortelyouNew YorkMarch 4, 1907March 7, 1909
45 Franklin MacVeaghIllinoisMarch 8, 1909March 5, 1913William Howard Taft
46 William Gibbs McAdooNew YorkMarch 6, 1913December 15, 1918Woodrow Wilson
47 Carter GlassVirginiaDecember 16, 1918February 1, 1920
48 David F. HoustonMissouriFebruary 2, 1920March 3, 1921
49 Andrew MellonPennsylvaniaMarch 4, 1921February 12, 1932Warren G. Harding
Calvin Coolidge
Herbert Hoover
50 Ogden L. MillsNew YorkFebruary 13, 1932March 4, 1933
51 William H. WoodinNew YorkMarch 5, 1933December 31, 1933Franklin D. Roosevelt
52 Henry Morgenthau Jr.New YorkJanuary 1, 1934July 22, 1945
53 Fred M. VinsonKentuckyJuly 23, 1945June 23, 1946Harry S. Truman
54 John Wesley SnyderMissouriJune 25, 1946January 20, 1953
55 George M. HumphreyOhioJanuary 21, 1953July 29, 1957Dwight D. Eisenhower
56 Robert B. AndersonConnecticutJuly 29, 1957January 20, 1961
57 C. Douglas DillonNew JerseyJanuary 21, 1961April 1, 1965John F. Kennedy
Lyndon B. Johnson
58 Henry H. FowlerVirginiaApril 1, 1965December 20, 1968
59 Joseph W. BarrIndianaDecember 21, 1968January 20, 1969
60 David M. KennedyUtahJanuary 22, 1969February 10, 1971Richard Nixon
61 John ConnallyTexasFebruary 11, 1971June 12, 1972
62 George ShultzIllinoisJune 12, 1972May 8, 1974
63 William E. SimonNew JerseyMay 8, 1974January 20, 1977
Gerald Ford
64 W. Michael BlumenthalMichiganJanuary 23, 1977August 4, 1979Jimmy Carter
65 G. William MillerRhode IslandAugust 7, 1979January 20, 1981
66 Donald ReganNew JerseyJanuary 22, 1981February 1, 1985Ronald Reagan
67 James BakerTexasFebruary 4, 1985August 17, 1988
M. Peter McPherson
Acting[b]
MichiganAugust 17, 1988September 15, 1988
68 Nicholas F. BradyNew JerseySeptember 15, 1988January 17, 1993
George H. W. Bush
69 Lloyd BentsenTexasJanuary 20, 1993December 22, 1994Bill Clinton
Frank N. Newman
Acting[b]
MassachusettsDecember 22, 1994January 11, 1995
70 Robert RubinNew YorkJanuary 11, 1995July 2, 1999
71 Lawrence SummersMassachusettsJuly 2, 1999January 20, 2001
72 Paul H. O'NeillPennsylvaniaJanuary 20, 2001December 31, 2002George W. Bush
Kenneth W. Dam
Acting[b]
IllinoisDecember 31, 2002February 3, 2003
73 John W. SnowVirginiaFebruary 3, 2003June 30, 2006
Robert M. Kimmitt
Acting[b]
VirginiaJune 30, 2006July 10, 2006
74 Henry PaulsonIllinoisJuly 10, 2006January 20, 2009
Stuart A. Levey
Acting[c]
OhioJanuary 20, 2009January 26, 2009Barack Obama
75 Timothy GeithnerNew YorkJanuary 26, 2009January 25, 2013
Neal S. Wolin
Acting[b]
IllinoisJanuary 25, 2013February 28, 2013
76 Jack LewNew YorkFebruary 28, 2013January 20, 2017
Adam Szubin
Acting[c]
Washington, D.C.January 20, 2017February 13, 2017Donald Trump
77 Steven MnuchinCaliforniaFebruary 13, 2017January 20, 2021
Andy Baukol
Acting[d]
VirginiaJanuary 20, 2021January 26, 2021Joe Biden
78 Janet YellenCaliforniaJanuary 26, 2021Incumbent
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]

#Office
1*Under Secretaries of the Treasury
2General Counsel of the Department of the Treasury
3*Deputy Under Secretaries of the Treasury and those Assistant Secretaries of the Treasury appointed by the President by and with the consent of the Senate
4Chief of Staff
5Assistant Secretary for Management
6Fiscal Assistant Secretary
7Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Internal Revenue Service
8Commissioner, Bureau of the Fiscal Service
9Deputy Commissioner, Fiscal Accounting and Shared Services, Bureau of the Fiscal Service
10Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, Internal Revenue Service
*In the order in which they shall have taken the oath of office as such officers.

Notes

References

External links

U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded byas retired Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court Order of precedence of the United States
as Secretary of the Treasury
Succeeded byas Secretary of Defense
U.S. presidential line of succession
Preceded by 5th in line Succeeded by