The United States Cabinet ( usually simplified as `` the Cabinet '' ) is composed of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States , and its existence dates back to the first American President ( George Washington ) , who appointed a Cabinet of four people ( Secretary of State , Thomas Jefferson ; Secretary of the Treasury , Alexander Hamilton ; Secretary of War , Henry Knox ; and Attorney General , Edmund Randolph ) to advise and assist him in his duties . The United States Cabinet ( usually referred to as the U.S. President 's Cabinet or simplified as the Cabinet ) is composed of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States . Its existence dates back to the first American President , George Washington , who appointed a Cabinet of four people ( Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson ; Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton ; Secretary of War Henry Knox ; and Attorney General Edmund Randolph ) to advise and assist him in his duties .