U.S. Department of the Treasury
Department of the Treasury | |
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Secretary: | Janet Yellen |
Year created: | 1789 |
Official website: | Treasury.gov |
The Department of the Treasury is a United States executive department established in 1789. The department was originally formed as a solution to managing the finances of the federal government.[1]
The current secretary of the Treasury is Janet Yellen. The Senate confirmed Yellen on January 25, 2021, by a vote of 84-15. Click here to learn more about her confirmation process.
History
On April 1, 1776, the Treasury Office of Accounts was formed to maintain the accounts of the rebel colonies. This allowed the colonies to seek loans after the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776.[1] The subsequent years saw a steep decline in the value of Continental Dollars until Robert Morris was appointed Superintendent of the Treasury in 1781. In 1789, the First Congress of the United States created the Department of the Treasury, with Alexander Hamilton becoming the first secretary of the treasury.[1]
Many departments and agencies have taken root in the Treasury Department before breaking off. The U.S. Post Office, Commerce Department, Drug Enforcement Administration, Office of Management and Budget, Department of Health and Human Services, and even the U.S. Coast Guard were in some way responsibilities of the Treasury Department early in their development. At the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference, the department played a strong role in the formation of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.[1]
Mission
The mission of the Department of the Treasury is as follows:
" | The U.S. Department of the Treasury's mission is to maintain a strong economy and create economic and job opportunities by promoting the conditions that enable economic growth and stability at home and abroad, strengthen national security by combating threats and protecting the integrity of the financial system, and manage the U.S. Government’s finances and resources effectively.[2] | ” |
—Treasury Department[3] |
Leadership
The duties of the secretary of the treasury include:[1]
- Managing economic and fiscal policy;
- Handling government accounting and debt management;
- Promulgating and enforcing tax and tariff laws;
- Assessing and collecting internal revenue;
- Producing currency; and
- Supervising national banks.
Recent Secretaries of the Treasury | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Secretary of the Treasury | Years in office | Nominated by | Confirmation vote | |||||
Paul O'Neill | 2001-2002 | George W. Bush | Voice vote | |||||
John W. Snow | 2003-2006 | George W. Bush | Unanimous consent | |||||
Henry Paulson | 2006-2009 | George W. Bush | Voice vote | |||||
Timothy Geithner | 2009-2013 | Barack Obama | 60-34 | |||||
Jack Lew | 2013-2017 | Barack Obama | 71-26 | |||||
Steven Mnuchin | 2017-2021 | Donald Trump | 53-47 | |||||
Janet Yellen | 2021-Present | Joe Biden | 84-15 |
Historical Secretaries of the Treasury | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Secretary of the Treasury | Years in office | Nominated by | Confirmation vote | |||||
Alexander Hamilton | 1789-1795 | George Washington (U.S. president) | K.A. | |||||
Oliver Wolcott, Jr. | 1795-1800 | John Adams | K.A. | |||||
Samuel Dexter | 1801 | Thomas Jefferson | K.A. | |||||
Albert Gallatin | 1801-1814 | James Madison | K.A. | |||||
George W. Campbell | 1814 | James Madison | K.A. | |||||
Alexander J. Dallas | 1814-1816 | James Madison | K.A. | |||||
William H. Crawford | 1816-1825 | James Monroe | K.A. | |||||
Richard Rush | John Quincy Adams | K.A. | ||||||
Samuel D. Ingham | 1829-1831 | Andrew Jackson | K.A. | |||||
Louis McLane | 1831-1833 | Andrew Jackson | K.A. | |||||
William J. Duane | 1833 | Andrew Jackson | Recess appointment | |||||
Roger B. Taney | 1833-1834 | Andrew Jackson | Recess appointment | |||||
Levi Woodbury | 1834-1841 | Martin Van Buren | K.A. | |||||
Thomas Ewing | 1841 | William Henry Harrison | K.A. | |||||
Walter Forward | 1841-1843 | John Tyler | K.A. | |||||
John C. Spencer | 1843-1844 | John Tyler | 22-20 | |||||
George M. Bibb | 1844-1845 | John Tyler | K.A. | |||||
Robert J. Walker | 1845-1849 | James K. Polk | K.A. | |||||
William M. Meredith | 1849-1950 | Zachary Taylor | K.A. | |||||
Thomas Corwin | 1850-1853 | Millard Fillmore | K.A. | |||||
James Guthrie | 1853-1857 | Franklin Pierce | K.A. | |||||
Howell Cobb | 1857-1860 | James Buchanan | K.A. | |||||
Philip Thomas | 1860-1861 | James Buchanan | K.A. | |||||
John A. Dix | 1861 | James Buchanan | K.A. | |||||
Salmon P. Chase | 1861-1864 | Abraham Lincoln | K.A. | |||||
William P. Fessenden | 1864-1865 | Abraham Lincoln | K.A. | |||||
Hugh McCulloch | 1865-1869 | Andrew Johnson | K.A. | |||||
George S. Boutwell | 1869-1873 | Ulysses S. Grant | K.A. | |||||
William A. Richardson | 1873-1874 | Ulysses S. Grant | K.A. | |||||
Benjamin Bristow | 1874-1876 | Ulysses S. Grant | K.A. | |||||
Lot M. Morill | 1876-1877 | Ulysses S. Grant | K.A. | |||||
John Sherman | 1877-1881 | Rutherford B. Hayes | 37-11 | |||||
William Windom | 1881 | James A. Garfield | K.A. | |||||
Charles J. Folger | 1881-1884 | Chester A. Arthur | K.A. | |||||
Walter Q. Gresham | 1884 | Chester A. Arthur | K.A. | |||||
Hugh McCulloch | 1884-1885 | Chester A. Arthur | 50-1 | |||||
Daniel Manning | 1885-1887 | Grover Cleveland | K.A. | |||||
Charles S. Fairchild | 1887-1889 | Grover Cleveland | K.A. | |||||
William Windom | 1889-1891 | Benjamin Harrison | K.A. | |||||
Charles Foster | 1891-1893 | Benjamin Harrison | K.A. | |||||
John G. Carlisle | 1893-1897 | Grover Cleveland | K.A. | |||||
Lyman J. Gage | 1897-1902 | William McKinley | K.A. | |||||
L. M. Shaw | 1902-1907 | Theodore Roosevelt | K.A. | |||||
George B. Cortelyou | 1907-1909 | Theodore Roosevelt | K.A. | |||||
Franklin MacVeagh | 1909-1913 | William Howard Taft | K.A. | |||||
William Gibbs McAdoo | 1913-1918 | Woodrow Wilson | K.A. | |||||
Carter Glass | 1918-1920 | Woodrow Wilson | K.A. | |||||
David F. Houston | 1921-1922 | Woodrow Wilson | 68-1 | |||||
Andrew W. Mellon | 1921-1932 | Warren Harding | K.A. | |||||
Ogden L. Mills | 1932-1933 | Herbert Hoover | K.A. | |||||
William H Woodin | 1933 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | K.A. | |||||
Henry Morgenthau, Jr. | 1934-1945 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | K.A. | |||||
Fred M. Vinson | 1945-1946 | Harry S. Truman | K.A. | |||||
John W. Snyder | 1946-1953 | Harry S. Truman | K.A. | |||||
George M. Humphrey | 1953-1957 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | K.A. | |||||
Robert B. Anderson | 1957-1961 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | K.A. | |||||
C. Douglas Dillon | 1961-1965 | John F. Kennedy | K.A. | |||||
Henry H. Fowler | 1965-1968 | Lyndon Johnson | K.A. | |||||
Joseph W. Barr | 1968-1969 | Lyndon Johnson | K.A. | |||||
David M. Kennedy | 1969-1971 | Richard Nixon | K.A. | |||||
John Connally | 1971-1972 | Richard Nixon | K.A. | |||||
George P. Shultz | 1972-1974 | Richard Nixon | 83-0 | |||||
William E. Simon | 1974-1977 | Gerald Ford | K.A. | |||||
W. Michael Blumenthal | 1977-1979 | Jimmy Carter | K.A. | |||||
G. William Miller | 1979-1981 | Jimmy Carter | 97-1 | |||||
Donald Regan | 1981-1985 | Ronald Reagan | 98-0 | |||||
James Baker | 1985-1988 | Ronald Reagan | 95-0 | |||||
Nicholas F. Brady | 1988-1993 | George H.W. Bush | 92-2 | |||||
Lloyd Bentsen | 1993-1994 | Bill Clinton | K.A. | |||||
Robert Rubin | 1995-1999 | Bill Clinton | 99-0 | |||||
Lawrence Summers | 1999-2001 | Bill Clinton | 97-2 |
Note: Votes marked "N/A" represent voice votes or unrecorded votes.
Organization
Administrative State |
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Read more about the administrative state on Ballotpedia. |
Click here to view the Treasury's organizational chart.
Office of the Secretary of the Treasury
The secretary is charged with advising the president on economic and fiscal policy. The secretary also serves as the chief financial officer of the federal government as well as overseeing the Treasury Department. The head of the Department is also responsible for representing the U.S. in international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and regional development banks.[1]
Office of the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury
The deputy secretary assists the secretary in running the department and is responsible for leading the department in the absence of the secretary.[1]
Office of the Treasurer of the United States
The treasurer of the United States must receive, hold and disburse government funds. The treasurer's signature is present on all U.S. paper money along with the secretary's signature.[1]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms United States Department of Treasury. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
- Official Department of the Treasury website
- Official Facebook page
- Official Twitter page
- Official Youtube channel
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 U.S. Department of the Treasury, "Department of the Treasury history," accessed September 27, 2013
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ U.S. Department of the Treasury, "Role of the Treasury," accessed February 26, 2024
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