The president may designate heads of other agencies and non-Senate-confirmed members of the Executive Office of the President as Cabinet-level members of the Cabinet….Cabinet of the United States.

Robert C. Weaver became the first African-American to hold a Cabinet position when he was appointed secretary of housing and urban development in 1966 by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Colin L. Powell was appointed Secretary of State by George W. Bush on January 20, 2001, after being unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate. He served for four years, leaving the position on January 26, 2005. He was the first African-American to serve as Secretary of State.

Washington’s Cabinet While the current presidential cabinet includes sixteen members, George Washington’s cabinet included just four original members: Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of War Henry Knox, and Attorney General Edmund Randolph.

The definition of precedent is a decision that is the basis or reason for future decisions. An example of precedent is the legal decision in Brown v. Board of Education guiding future laws about desegregation.

Mindful of the precedent his conduct set for future presidents, Washington feared that if he were to die while in office, Americans would view the presidency as a lifetime appointment. Instead, he decided to step down from power, providing the standard of a two-term limit.

While President Franklin D. Roosevelt broke this precedent by winning a third and fourth term, the precedent became law when Amendment XXII of the Constitution was ratified in 1951.

After successfully ending American fighting in Vietnam and improving international relations with the U.S.S.R. and China, he became the only President to ever resign the office, as a result of the Watergate scandal. Reconciliation was the first goal set by President Richard M. Nixon.