List of Hispanic and Latino American United States Cabinet members

The Cabinet of the United States, which is the principal advisory body to the President of the United States, has had 21 Hispanic and Latino American members altogether, with two of them serving in multiple positions for a total of 23 cabinet appointments. Of that number, 17 different Latino American individuals held a total of 18 permanent cabinet posts, having served as the heads of the federal executive departments; five more Latin Americans held cabinet-level positions, which can differ under each president; and one officeholder served in both cabinet and cabinet-rank roles. The U.S. Census Bureau defines Hispanic or Latino Americans as citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race.^[1] No Hispanic or Latino American ever held a cabinet position before the civil rights movement or the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which banned discrimination in public accommodations, employment, and labor unions.^[2]

Alberto Gonzales is the highest-ranking Hispanic and Latino American to lead the Federal Executive Department; he held the post of Attorney General.

Lauro Cavazos became the first Hispanic to serve in a president's cabinet when he was appointed Secretary of Education by President Ronald Reagan in 1988.^[3] Federico Peña was appointed Secretary of Transportation by President Bill Clinton in 1993 and served as Secretary of Energy during part of Clinton's second term, thus making him the first Latino American to hold two different cabinet positions.^[4] Aida Álvarez became the first Latina woman to serve in the president's cabinet when Clinton picked her for the cabinet-rank position of Administrator of the Small Business Administration in 1997. However, the first Latina to lead a permanent cabinet office was Hilda Solis when President Barack Obama appointed her Secretary of Labor in 2009. Mel Martínez, who was born in Cuba, became the first foreign-born Hispanic and Latino American to serve in the presidential cabinet when President George W. Bush named him Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in 2001.^[5][a]

President Joe Biden named the most Hispanic and Latino Americans as secretaries to his initial Cabinet: former California Attorney General Xavier Becerra as Secretary of Health and Human Services; Connecticut Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona as Secretary of Education; and DHS Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas as Secretary of Homeland security, exceeding by one the record set by President Bill Clinton and equaled by Barack Obama. However, including cabinet reshuffles during his second term in office, Obama still holds the record for most Hispanic and Latino Americans appointed to permanent cabinet positions with five, the most of any presidency, therefore surpassing Clinton's previous number of four.

The Departments of Education, Housing and Urban Development, and Labor have had the most Hispanic or Latino American secretaries with three. The Departments of Energy and Interior have had two; the Departments of Commerce, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Justice, and Transportation have had one. No Hispanic or Latino American has led departments of Agriculture, Defense, State, Treasury, or Veterans Affairs.^{[8][9][10][11][12]}

The totals for this list include only Hispanic and Latino American presidential appointees confirmed (if necessary) by the U.S. Senate to cabinet or cabinet-level positions and taking their oath of office; they do not include acting officials or nominees awaiting confirmation.

Permanent cabinet members

The following list includes Hispanic and Latino Americans who have held permanent positions in the cabinet, all of whom are in the line of succession to the presidency. The table below is organized based on the beginning of their terms in office. Officeholders whose terms begin the same day are listed according to the presidential order of succession.

 *  denotes the first Hispanic and Latino American holder of that particular office

No.	Portrait	Name	Office	Succession[13]	Term start	Term end	Party		Administration(s)	Ref.
1		Lauro Cavazos*	Secretary of Education	16	September 20, 1988	December 12, 1990		Republican	Reagan	[3]
									Bush Sr.
2		Manuel Lujan Jr.*	Secretary of the Interior	8	February 3, 1989	January 20, 1993				[14]
3		Federico Peña*	Secretary of Transportation	14	January 21, 1993	February 14, 1997		Democratic	Clinton	[4]
4		Henry Cisneros*	Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	13	January 22, 1993	January 20, 1997				[15]
(3)		Federico Peña*	Secretary of Energy	15	March 12, 1997	June 30, 1998				[4]
5		Bill Richardson	Secretary of Energy	15	August 18, 1998	January 20, 2001				[16]
6		Mel Martínez	Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	13[a]	January 24, 2001	August 13, 2004		Republican	Bush Jr.	[5]
7		Alberto Gonzales*	Attorney General	7	February 3, 2005	September 17, 2007				[17]
8		Carlos Gutierrez*	Secretary of Commerce	10[a]	February 7, 2005	January 20, 2009				[18]
9		Ken Salazar	Secretary of the Interior	8	January 20, 2009	April 12, 2013		Democratic	Obama	[19]
10		Hilda Solis*	Secretary of Labor	11	February 24, 2009	January 22, 2013				[20]
11		Tom Perez	Secretary of Labor	11	July 23, 2013	January 20, 2017				[21]
12		Julian Castro	Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	13	July 28, 2014	January 20, 2017				[22]
13		John King Jr.	Secretary of Education	16	January 1, 2016	January 20, 2017				[23]
14		Alexander Acosta	Secretary of Labor	11	April 28, 2017	July 19, 2019		Republican	Trump	[24]
15		Alejandro Mayorkas*	Secretary of Homeland Security	18[a]	February 2, 2021	Incumbent		Democratic	Biden	[25]
16		Miguel Cardona	Secretary of Education	16	March 2, 2021	Incumbent				[26]
17		Xavier Becerra*	Secretary of Health and Human Services	12	March 19, 2021	Incumbent				[27]

Cabinet-level positions

The president may designate or remove additional officials as cabinet members. These positions have not always been in the cabinet, so some Hispanic and Latino American officeholders may not be listed.

The following list includes Hispanic and Latino Americans who have held cabinet-rank positions, which can vary under each president. They are not in the line of succession and are not necessarily officers of the United States. The table below is organized based on the beginning of their terms in office while it raised to cabinet-level status. Officeholders whose terms begin the same day are listed alphabetically by last name.

 *  denotes the first Hispanic and Latino American holder of that particular office

No.	Portrait	Name	Office	Term start	Term end	Party		Administration(s)	Ref.
1		Bill Richardson*	United States Ambassador to the United Nations	February 18, 1997	August 18, 1998		Democratic	Clinton	[16]
2		Aida Álvarez*	Administrator of the Small Business Administration	March 7, 1997	January 19, 2001				[28]
3		Maria Contreras-Sweet	Administrator of the Small Business Administration	April 7, 2014	January 20, 2017			Obama	[29]
4		Jovita Carranza	Administrator of the Small Business Administration	January 14, 2020	January 20, 2021		Republican	Trump	[30]
5		Isabel Guzman	Administrator of the Small Business Administration	March 17, 2021	Incumbent		Democratic	Biden	[31]

See also

• Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States Congress
  • List of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States Congress
• List of African-American United States Cabinet members
• List of Jewish United States Cabinet members
• List of female United States Cabinet members
• List of foreign-born United States Cabinet members
• List of minority governors and lieutenant governors in the United States

Notes

1. Ineligible to serve in the line of succession due to being a naturalized citizen and not a natural-born citizen.^[6][7]

References

1. "The Hispanic Population: 2010" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
2. "Transcript of Civil Rights Act (1964)". Retrieved February 8, 2009.
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4. "Energy Secretary Pena quits to be with family". Tampa Bay Times. April 7, 1998. Archived from the original on September 28, 2022. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
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6. "U.S. Code: Title 3, 19. Vacancy In Offices of Both President and Vice President; Officers Eligible to Act". Cornell Law School. Retrieved November 16, 2008.
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26. Tatum, Sophie (March 2, 2021). "Miguel Cardona confirmed by the Senate as education secretary". ABC News. Archived from the original on June 4, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
27. Ollstein, Alice Miranda (March 18, 2021). "Senate narrowly confirms Becerra as health secretary". Politico. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
28. Ho, Rodney (February 14, 1997). "New SBA Chief Alvarez Vows To Improve Portfolio Oversight". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on September 28, 2022. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
29. Pizzanghera, Jim (March 27, 2014). "Maria Contreras-Sweet confirmed as SBA chief". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 13, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
30. Jagoda, Naomi (January 7, 2020). "Senate confirms Trump pick for small business chief". The Hill. Archived from the original on July 13, 2021. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
31. Rummler, Orion (March 16, 2021). "Senate confirms Isabel Guzman to lead Small Business Administration". Axios. Archived from the original on September 29, 2022. Retrieved September 20, 2022.