Which agencies are examples of cabinet-level departments?

• A. Defense, State, and Homeland Security.
• B. Congress, Supreme Court, and the Federal Reserve
• C. Interior, Commerce, and Labor
• D. White House Staff, National Security Council, and OMB

Answer: (A)

Cabinet-level departments are the major executive agencies that form the President’s inner team for running the government. Defense and State are classic examples, covering national security and foreign policy, and Homeland Security is the modern addition that protects the country from internal and external threats. These departments sit in the President’s Cabinet and have heads who participate in top-level policy decisions, making them quintessential cabinet-level departments. The other items either belong to different branches (Congress and the Supreme Court), or are not departments at all (the Federal Reserve is an independent central bank; White House Staff, the National Security Council, and the Office of Management and Budget are part of the Executive Office of the President, not cabinet departments).