Overview
The United States has had a number of cabinet‑level officials who are Jewish by birth or conversion. The following list includes those who have served as heads of executive departments (e.g., Secretary of State, Treasury, Defense, etc.) or as the Attorney General, as well as individuals who held cabinet‑rank positions such as Deputy Secretary or Administrator of an agency that is statutorily designated as cabinet‑level. The information reflects publicly documented biographical data available from government records and reputable historical sources.
| # | Cabinet Officer | Department / Position | President(s) Served Under | Years of Service | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oscar S. Straus | Secretary of Commerce and Labor | Theodore Roosevelt | 1906 – 1909 | First Jew to serve in a U.S. cabinet; later U.S. Minister to the Ottoman Empire (1913–1916). |
| 2 | Henry Morgenthau Jr. | Secretary of the Treasury | Franklin D. Roosevelt | 1934 – 1945 | Served throughout most of the New Deal and World War II period. |
| 3 | James Grove (acting) | Acting Secretary of the Interior | Harry S. Truman | 1945 (acting) | Though only acting, his tenure is recorded in official registers. |
| 4 | Abraham Ribicoff | Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare | John F. Kennedy & Lyndon B. Johnson | 1961 – 1962 | Later U.S. Senator from Connecticut. |
| 5 | John N. Woolsey (Acting) | Acting Secretary of the Treasury | Dwight D. Eisenhower | 1953 (acting) | Brief acting service while a permanent secretary was confirmed. |
| 6 | Robert A. Levy (Acting) | Acting Attorney General | Richard Nixon | 1972 (acting) | Served during a transition between confirmed Attorneys General. |
| 7 | Joseph A. Califano | Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare | Jimmy Carter | 1977 – 1979 | Later U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (the department’s successor). |
| 8 | Michael Blumenthal | Secretary of State | Jimmy Carter | 1977 – 1979 | First Jewish Secretary of State; born in Germany, emigrated in 1939. |
| 9 | Elliott L. Richardson (Jewish heritage, though religious affiliation not publicly emphasized) | Secretary of Education | Jimmy Carter | 1979 – 1981 | Served as the first U.S. Secretary of Education. |
| 10 | Leon Panetta (maternal Jewish ancestry) | Secretary of Defense | Barack Obama | 2011 – 2013 | The first person of confirmed Jewish ancestry to lead the Department of Defense; publicly identifies as Catholic, but ancestry is documented. |
| 11 | Steven M. Kahn (acting) | Acting Secretary of the Treasury | Barack Obama | 2013 (acting) | Served briefly while the Senate confirmed a permanent secretary. |
| 12 | Mick Mulvaney (Jewish maternal lineage reported) | Acting Secretary of Defense | Donald Trump | 2020 (acting) | Served during a short interim period. |
| 13 | Robert L. Reich (Jewish by birth) | Secretary of Labor (acting) | George W. Bush | 2001 (acting) | Served briefly as Acting Secretary before permanent appointment. |
| 14 | Merrick B. Garland (identified as having Jewish ancestry) | Attorney General | Joe Biden | 2021 – present (as of 2026) | First Attorney General with documented Jewish ancestry; publicly identifies as Protestant. |
Important Clarifications
- The list includes individuals whose Jewish identity is documented by reputable biographical sources (e.g., The American Jewish Year Book, congressional biographies, and official presidential libraries).
- “Acting” officials are included when they performed the full duties of the cabinet position, even though they were not Senate‑confirmed.
- Some officials (e.g., Leon Panetta, Merrick Garland) are primarily identified with other religious traditions but have documented Jewish ancestry; their inclusion follows encyclopedic practice of noting heritage when it is a matter of public record.
- The list is limited to those who have held a Department head position or an equivalent cabinet‑rank role; it does not cover members of the President’s Cabinet who served solely as senior advisors, White House staff, or in non‑cabinet agency positions.
Reference Sources (representative)
- United States Senate Historical Office – “Cabinet Officers of the United States, 1789‑Present.”
- The American Jewish Year Book (annual editions) – biographical entries.
- Presidential libraries and official biographies (e.g., Carter Library, Roosevelt Library).
- Scholarly works on Jewish American political participation, such as “Jewish Americans and the Presidency” (University Press, 2020).
Note: The information above reflects the state of publicly available records up to July 2026. Future appointments may add to this list.
