Selecting the President's Inner Cabinet

Soon after his election, the President-elect mustconsider, from among all those who are eligible bysome standards, which potential appointees warrantserious consideration. Incoming Presidentsgenerally choose members of the Inner Cabinet(Secretaries of State, Defense, and Treasury, andAttorney General) quickly, before making otherCabinet choices. As these Cabinet members will havea significant impact upon policy, the President-elect s choices of who they are likely to beconstitute, in essence, his first act ofgovernance. Although there always are speculationsand predictions regarding these selections, coherenttheoretical analyses are lacking. Prior treatmentsleave the impression of a selection process that ishighly idiosyncratic governed by particularpersonalities and circumstances that do not carryover from one incoming President to the next. Thisstudy uses the principal-agent framework to arguethat Presidents-elect are purposeful and motivatedprincipals who want to appoint to theInner Cabinetpeople who will be their loyal agents and willpromote their policies.