Thomas Jefferson, who had accepted Washington's invitation…
February 1793 CE
There is no explicit reference to a "Cabinet" in the United States Constitution, the United States Code, or the Code of Federal Regulations.
In the Constitution, the President is authorized (but not compelled) to "require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices."
The Constitution does not provide for an explicit forum where the principal officers' opinions can be obtained less formally, without writing, such as a formal Cabinet.
Washington organizes his principal officers into a Cabinet on February 25, 1793, and it has been part of the executive branch structure ever since.
Washington's Cabinet consists of six members: himself, the Vice President John Adams, Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of War Henry Knox and Attorney General Edmund Randolph.
Washington's cabinet members are known for their dissension, forming rival parties, and having sharply divided views, the most fierce between Hamilton and Jefferson.
Jefferson describes his relationship with Hamilton as being "daily pitted... like two cocks."
Knox almost always sides with Hamilton, while Randolph tries to remain neutral but tends to side more with Jefferson, his fellow Virginian.
Washington will restrict cabinet discussions to topics of his own choosing, without participating in debate.
He will occasionally request cabinet opinions in writing, and he expects his department heads to carry out his decisions without complaint.
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