Editing Cabinet of the United States (section)

==Federal law==
In {{usc|3|302}} with regard to delegation of authority by the president, it is provided that "nothing herein shall be deemed to require express authorization in any case in which such an official would be presumed in law to have acted by authority or direction of the president." This pertains directly to the heads of the executive departments as each of their offices is created and specified by statutory law (hence the presumption) and thus gives them the authority to act for the president within their areas of responsibility without any specific delegation.

Under {{usc|5|3110}} (also known as the 1967 Federal Anti-Nepotism statute), federal officials are prohibited from appointing their immediate family members to certain governmental positions, including those in the Cabinet.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.stetson.edu/law/lawreview/media/congressional-interference-with-the-presidents-power-to-appoint-24-3.pdf|title=Congressional Interference With The President's Power To Appoint|first1=Richard P.|last1=Wulwick|first2=Frank J.|last2=Macchiarola|journal=Stetson Law Review|volume=XXIV|year=1995|pages=625–652|access-date=November 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116101457/http://www.stetson.edu/law/lawreview/media/congressional-interference-with-the-presidents-power-to-appoint-24-3.pdf|archive-date=November 16, 2016|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

Under the [[Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998]], an administration may appoint acting heads of department from employees of the relevant department. These may be existing high-level career employees, from political appointees of the outgoing administration (for new administrations), or sometimes lower-level appointees of the administration.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.propublica.org/article/who-runs-departments-before-heads-are-confirmed-090122|title=Who Runs Departments Before Heads Are Confirmed?|last=Pierce|first=Olga|date=2009-01-22|newspaper=ProPublica|language=en|access-date=2017-01-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202000058/https://www.propublica.org/article/who-runs-departments-before-heads-are-confirmed-090122|archive-date=February 2, 2017|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref>