don't cabinet officials "serve at the pleasure of the president?"

[Syrinx]

In other words, can't the president fire a member of his cabinet for any reason, or even no reason?

I'm pretty sure that's the case. But can anyone confirm this?

Sorry for the semi-ignorant question. ;)

[Rhiannon12866]

1. I always thought so, like Gonzales, for instance. It was Bush*'s decision to keep him on, despite

the dog's breakfast he made of the office... :eyes:

I found this link, though I'm not sure how reliable this site is, have never run across it before, but it seems like a pretty good article, despite the title of the site. :-)

President Obama's Cabinet
http://www.therealright.com/blog/content/id_37558/title_President-Obamas-Cabinet/

<snip>
One is that there should be no expectation of job security. Every cabinet officer serves at the pleasure of the president, and he should resign without argument or complaint if either he wants to leave (for any reason), or if the president wants him to leave. Along these lines, I would advise Obama not to appoint close personal friends to the head of cabinet departments. It would be awkward for him to have to fire his friends.

Another point is that the cabinet official’s job is to carry out the president’s policy, but he has to be able to give the president his honest advice, even if it is contrary to the president’s inclinations. If he feels that the president is paying no attention to him, or that the president has chosen a very bad course of action, he should not hang around. I always thought that Colin Powell should have resigned as Bush’s Secretary of State long before he did, because it was apparent that Bush was not listening to him.

While the primary duty is to carry out the president’s policy, it has to be done within the law, and it would be destructive to the president’s image if he is perceived as systematically favoring one group over another. Specifically regarding the job of Attorney General, this should be a non-political post. Far too many of them in my lifetime have been personal cronies of the president, using the machinery of the federal government to reward friends and to punish supposed enemies.
<snip>


Rhiannon:hi:

Edited for punctuation :blush:

p.s. Are you still up or is it morning for you? :hangover:

[Syrinx]

3. hey friend!

Dog's breakfast. I hope that doesn't mean what I think.

:rofl:

It's great so see you, nice person!

I haven't read the article, but I bookmarked it.

It's late at night for me right now. I have weird sleeping habits. Sometimes I'll be up because I can't sleep. Insomnia. Sometimes I'll be up because I'm busy with some task. Hyperactivity. Sometimes I'll be up because I don't want to sleep! Drunkenness.

:D

[Rhiannon12866]

5. Don't even ask. I guess I had it on my mind, since my dog was sick tonight and had

to make a trip to the vet's. He says my pup will be okay, that it's a virus that's going around, gave him shots and meds (wish me luck with that...), but I was very scared.;(

And it's great to see you, too, my friend. And I thought you asked a very good question. This is probably the reason Obama is choosing so carefully...:-)

And I'm still up, as well. I figured that you were too. I was doing better for quite awhile, but now I'm back to my old habits. And I even have a prescription for sleeping pills...:shrug:

Rhiannon:hi:

on edit: notice my edit on my previous post. I included the relevant paragraphs from the article I posted... :-)

[Syrinx]

9. I sure wish your pup the best

I've almost always had a dog, and I love them. Some people don't understand that stuff. But I love them. Not quite like humans. But not that much different either.

I like you.

Na-nu, na-nu.

:rofl:

[Rhiannon12866]

10. Thanks so much.

As I always say, liberals love animals. I once made that comment to one of the vets at the Animal Emergency Clinic, probably inappropriate since I didn't really know her... yet. *sigh* But she replied, "And Republicans love money..." LOL. :D

I think part of the reason I'm not sleeping is that I want to keep an eye on him even though he is sleeping... He's still having "accidents." :-(

And if you've never seen my little Jack, here he is...:loveya:


And I like you, too, my friend...:hi:

[Hekate]

2. I believe so. What makes you ask? nt

[Syrinx]

4. nothing specific

It's just people complaining about President-Elect Obama's cabinet choices. He can just fire them, if he needs to, right?

[FrenchieCat]

6. He can.

[Syrinx]

7. thanks for confirmation!

:hi:

[rucky]

8. Yes. It's a "right to work" situation.