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Updated December 22, 2020
United Nations Issues: Cabinet Rank of the
U.S. Permanent Representative
The U.S. Permanent Representative is the chief
as a means of maintaining communication and the flow of
representative of the United States to the United Nations.
information among key Administration officials.
The President appoints the Permanent Representative with
By tradition, permanent Cabinet membership comprises the
the advice and consent of the Senate. Of the 30 individuals
President, the heads of the executive departments and, in
who have served since 1946, approximately two-thirds have
more recent decades, the Vice President. Beginning with
been accorded Cabinet rank by Presidents. Some Members
Dwight D. Eisenhower, each President also has accorded
of Congress have demonstrated an ongoing interest in the
Cabinet rank to select senior executive branch leaders,
Cabinet rank of the Permanent Representative in the context
including the U.S. Permanent Representative. The positions
of the Senate confirmation process and broader U.S. policy
and individuals granted this distinction vary by presidency
toward the United Nations. On November 24, 2020,
and, sometimes, within a presidency. Some positions,
President-elect Biden announced his intent to nominate
including the Administrator of the Environmental
Linda Thomas-Greenfield to be Permanent Representative,
Protection Agency, the United States Trade Representative,
with Cabinet rank. Biden stated that he will accord Cabinet
the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and
status to Greenfield “because I want to hear her voice on all
the White House Chief of Staff, have all consistently been
the major foreign policy discussions we have.”
accorded this status over the past three decades.
Role of the Permanent Representative
In general, providing an agency head with Cabinet rank can
The position of Permanent Representative is authorized in
be a way for a President to publicly convey his or her view
the U.N. Participation Act of 1945 (UNPA; 22 U.S.C.
that the agency is one of the most important in the
§287(a)). As this law requires the President to appoint the
executive branch. It also can potentially provide an official
Representative at the rank of Ambassador, all such
with parity in communications with, and access to,
appointments are subject to Senate advice and consent. The
Secretaries and other Cabinet members.
UNPA provides that the Representative shall represent the
United States in the U.N. Security Council and may also
Cabinet Status by Administration
serve ex officio as U.S. representative to any U.N. organ,
President Eisenhower appears to have been the first
commission, or other body (with the exception of U.N.
President to accord Cabinet rank to his Permanent
specialized agencies, which have separate U.S.
Representative, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., in 1953. It is
ambassadors). The Permanent Representative shall also
unclear whether Lodge’s successor, James Wadsworth, held
perform other functions as directed by the President. As
the same status. Nearly all subsequent Permanent
head of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations (USUN) in
Representatives appear to have been granted Cabinet rank
New York City, the Representative works with the
until the presidency of George H.W. Bush in 1989. In the
Secretary of State and relevant State Department bureaus
following years, Presidents Clinton and Obama provided
and offices, including the Bureau of International
the position with Cabinet rank, while George W. Bush did
Organization Affairs (IO), which is led by an assistant
not. During the Trump Administration, Ambassador Nikki
secretary and charged with developing, coordinating, and
Haley was accorded Cabinet rank; to date, Ambassador
implementing U.S. multilateral policy.
Kelly Craft does not appear to have this status. Over the
The President’s Cabinet
years, Presidents appear to have usually communicated
their intent to accord Cabinet rank to the Permanent
The President’s Cabinet is an institution based in custom,
Representative through public remarks or communications
rather than statute, and its beginnings date to the presidency
with the Senate during the appointment and nomination
of George Washington. Some have traced its origins to
process. Table 1 identifies each of the Permanent
Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution, which provides that
the President may require “the Opinion, in writing, of the
Representatives since 1946 and their status with regard to
principal Officer in each of the executive Departments.”
Cabinet rank.
This provision suggests that the framers intended that the
Overall, it appears that many Presidents who have granted
President would seek advice from department heads,
Cabinet status did so to prioritize sustained engagement and
although it does not require that he or she do so by meeting
coordination with the United Nations as an element of U.S.
with them.
foreign policy. Historians have also suggested that Cabinet
rank in some cases was meant to compensate for the fact
Successive Presidents have used the Cabinet for varied
that the past status and achievements of appointees
purposes and to a greater or lesser extent—in some cases
otherwise exceeded the position (in particular, Henry Cabot
very little. Some Presidents have used it as a deliberative or
Lodge Jr. under President Eisenhower and Adlai Stevenson
decisionmaking body. Others appear to have used it chiefly
II under President Kennedy). In other instances, Cabinet
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United Nations Issues: Cabinet Rank of the U.S. Permanent Representative
rank might have been negotiated as a condition of accepting
knowledge, and diplomatic skills of the Permanent
the appointment (as was reported in the case of Ambassador
Representative, both within U.N. fora and the U.S.
Haley under President Trump). Conversely,
government foreign and national security establishment
Administrations that did not accord Cabinet rank may have
(particularly the State Department), can play a significantly
sought to limit the size of the Cabinet or determined, based
larger role in his or her success.
on their perception of the United Nations, or other reasons,
Table 1. Cabinet Rank of U.S. Permanent
that the Permanent Representative did not merit a Cabinet
Representatives: 1946-Present
seat (for example, Presidents George H.W. and George W.
Bush).
Name
President
Years
Cabinet?
Policy Issues and Congressional
Kelly Craft
Trump
2019-
No
Considerations
Nikki Haley
Trump
2017-19
Yes
Although the decision to accord Cabinet rank to the
Samantha Power
Obama
2013-17
Yes
Permanent Representative lies with the President, over the
years some Members of Congress have expressed an
Susan Rice
Obama
2009-13
Yes
interest in the issue. Members may view the Permanent
Zalmay Khalilzad
W. Bush
2007-09
No
Representative’s Cabinet rank (or lack thereof) as reflecting
John Bolton
W. Bush
2005-06
No
both his or her relationship with the Secretary of State and,
more broadly, the relationship between the United States
John Danforth
W. Bush
2004-05
No
and the United Nations.
John Negroponte
W. Bush
2001-04
No
Many policymakers and observers have debated the
Richard Holbrooke
Clinton
1999-01
Yes
benefits and drawbacks of Cabinet rank. On the one hand,
Wil iam Richardson
Clinton
1997-98
Yes
some argue it reflects the President’s view on the
Madeleine Albright
Clinton
1993-97
Yes
importance of the United Nations. They also suggest that it
provides Permanent Representatives with significant
Edward Perkins
H.W. Bush
1992-93
No
influence and standing in U.N. fora. For example, some
Thomas Pickering
H.W. Bush
1989-92
No
maintain the Permanent Representative might have more
Vernon Walters
Reagan
1985-89
Yes
credibility during U.N. negotiations because other
governments may perceive that he or she participates in
Jeane Kirkpatrick
Reagan
1981-85
Yes
high-level U.S. policy discussions with the President and
Donald McHenry
Carter
1979-81
Yes
other Cabinet members. Many may also view the
Permanent Representative as having the flexibility and
Andrew Young
Carter
1977-79
Yes
autonomy to react more quickly to changing circumstances
Wil iam Scranton
Ford
1976-77
Yes
during negotiations because there may be a minimal chain
Daniel Moynihan
Ford
1975-76
Yes
of command to which he or she reports. In U.N. fora, where
diplomatic rank and protocol are widely respected, Cabinet
John Scali
Nixon
1973-75
Yes
status may also provide Permanent Representatives with the
George H.W. Bush
Nixon
1971-73
Yes
ability to negotiate not only with their counterparts but also
Charles Yost
Nixon
1969-71
Yes
with foreign affairs ministers who report directly to their
heads of government.
James Wiggins
Johnson
1968-69
Yes
George Ball
Johnson
1968
Yes
On the other hand, some contend that holding Cabinet rank,
which often includes attending frequent meetings in
Arthur Goldberg
Johnson
1965-68
Yes
Washington, DC, can distract Permanent Representatives
Adlai Stevenson II
Kennedy
1961-65
Yes
from responsibilities in New York that often require his or
her physical presence (such as formal and informal Security
James Wadsworth
Eisenhower
1960-61
Uncleara
Council negotiations). On the working level, some
Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. Eisenhower
1953-60
Yes
observers suggest that having two Cabinet members from
Warren Austin
Truman
1947-53
No
the State Department (the Permanent Representative and
the Secretary of State) might be inefficient. For example, it
Edward Stettinius Jr.
Truman
1946
No
might create confusion regarding chain of command within
Source: Adapted by CRS from congressional documents,
the State Department and potentially lead to limited
presidential documents, and other relevant articles and transcripts.
coordination among USUN and the IO Bureau staff,
a. Determination of each Permanent Representative’s status is
particularly in areas where the IO Bureau holds expertise.
made on the basis of the preponderance of evidence from
Some have also highlighted the need for consistent
publicly available sources. Based on examination of these
budgeting procedures for additional staff or resources often
sources, CRS was not able to determine whether Ambassador
required by a Cabinet-ranked Permanent Representative.
James Wadsworth, who was confirmed and held the position for
More broadly, some observers have suggested that the
less than five months at the end of the Eisenhower
overall authority and effectiveness of the Permanent
Administration, held Cabinet rank.
Representative does not depend on Cabinet rank, and that
such rank does not necessarily confer the additional
Luisa Blanchfield, Specialist in International Relations
authority or access that may be attributed to it, given the
Henry B. Hogue, Specialist in American National
fluid role of the Cabinet. They contend that the personality,
Government
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United Nations Issues: Cabinet Rank of the U.S. Permanent Representative
IF11618
Susan G. Chesser, Senior Research Librarian
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