Head of the United States Department of the Treasury
TheUnited States secretary of the treasury is the head of theUnited States Department of the Treasury , and is the chief financial officer of thefederal government of the United States . The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal advisor to thepresident of the United States on all matters pertaining to economic and fiscal policy. The secretary is, by custom, a member of thepresident's cabinet and, by law, a member of theNational Security Council ,[ 4] and fifth in theU.S. presidential line of succession .
Under theAppointments Clause of theUnited States Constitution , the officeholder is nominated by the president of the United States, and, following aconfirmation hearing before theSenate Committee on Finance , will take the office if confirmed by the majority of the fullUnited States Senate .
Thesecretary of state , the secretary of the treasury, thesecretary of defense , and theattorney 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 has beenScott Bessent since January 28, 2025.
Powers and functions [ edit ] 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 theUnited States government ; and in manufacturingcoins andcurrency .As 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 theSocial Security andMedicare Trust Funds, and as U.S. Governor of theInternational Monetary Fund , theInternational Bank for Reconstruction and Development , theInter-American Development Bank , theAsian Development Bank , and theEuropean Bank for Reconstruction and Development .
— U.S. Department of the Treasury Web site[ 6]
The secretary along with thetreasurer of the United States must signFederal Reserve notes before they can becomelegal tender .[ 7] The secretary also manages theUnited States Emergency Economic Stabilization fund .[ 8]
The secretary of the treasury is aLevel I position in the Executive Schedule ,[ 3] thus earning the salary prescribed for that level ($250,600 as of January 2024).[ 9]
List of secretaries of the treasury [ edit ] TheUnited States secretary of the treasury is the head of theUnited States Department of the Treasury , and is the chief financial officer of thefederal government of the United States . The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal advisor to thepresident of the United States on all matters pertaining to economic and fiscal policy. The secretary is, by custom, a member of thepresident's cabinet and, by law, a member of theNational Security Council .[ 10]
Under theAppointments Clause of theUnited States Constitution , the officeholder is nominated by the president of the United States, and, following aconfirmation hearing before theSenate Committee on Finance , is confirmed by theUnited States Senate .
Parties Federalist (4) Democratic-Republican (4) Democratic (30) Whig (5) Republican (35) 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 Maryland 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 January 20, 2025 – David Lebryk Acting [ e] Indiana January 20, 2025 January 28, 2025 Donald Trump (2025–present)79 Scott Bessent South Carolina January 28, 2025 Incumbent
Former flag of the secretary of the treasury, originating from the 19th century. Presidential succession [ edit ] The secretary of the treasury is fifth in thepresidential line of succession , following thesecretary of state and preceding thesecretary of defense .[ 1]
Succession within the department [ edit ] On August 16, 2016, PresidentBarack 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 thedeputy 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:[ 11]
*In the order in which they shall have taken the oath of office as such officers.
^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. RetrievedFebruary 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.^ "Duties & Functions: Secretaries of the Treasury" .United States Department of the Treasury . Archived fromthe original on November 19, 2010. RetrievedNovember 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. RetrievedDecember 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. RetrievedJanuary 9, 2022 . This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain .
Links to related articles
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