We live in a democracy, others, poor things, live in totalitarian states governed by Fascists, Communists and the rest.
Democracy USA, however, is not the same as Democracy Europe. In the latter in, say, the UK, France, Germany and Italy the Head of State (monarch or president) has no executive power to speak of and the Prime Minister, democratically elected, rules until dismissed by the electorate. In the US the elected President, democratically elected, rules.
In the UK and the US the Prime Minister and President appoint the heads of key government departments: the Foreign Office, the Treasury, Defence for example. Prime Ministers are effectively restricted to choosing from a pool of their MPs and when a government is voted out of office these individuals leave with the PM.
Politics in the US is far from perfect. It’s not for nothing that the expressions such as pork barrel politics and gerrymandering originated in the US of A. However, at the top of government the President appoints the great officers of state and, as far as I can see, the only requirement is that the candidate should be a US citizen. They do not, unlike the President and Vice-President, have to be born in the US. They do have to be approved by a powerful Senate committee and sometimes this makes it expedient for a President to appoint people not from their party. This throws up some interesting data. Roosevelt and Truman (Democrats) appointed eighteen Republicans to key government positions; then Eisenhower (Republican) appointed four Democrats; then Kennedy and Johnson (Democrats) appointed thirteen Republicans. Today Biden eight Republicans in his administration.
I suppose Presidents have picked more than a few duds but often they are giants, often more talented than the President to whom they owe their jobs. The first Secretary of State (Foreign Secretary in the UK) was Thomas Jefferson who served under George Washington. Alexander Hamilton was the first Secretary of the Treasury, also under George Washington. This is a cross party system of government that delivers better candidates and ones who can serve longer than happens in the UK. In my time outstanding Secretaries of State have been Henry Kissinger (born in Germany), Madeleine Albright (born in Czechoslovakia), Condoleeza Rice (fluent in Russian), John Kerry and Antony Blinken. They are statesmen with wide experience, not mere politicians.
For a bit more context…
The President as head of the Executive Branch of the American government designates the individuals whom he wishes to serve as head of his administration’s departments (e.g., State, Commerce, Agriculture, Defense). The names are submitted to the Senate as the lead Legislative Branch which then has the responsibility to vet the designees and to vote (usually requiring a 2/3s majority for approval) on each nominee for key positions. Theoretically, the operation of the U.S. government is built on the notion that “men and women of good will” will come together to act in good faith for the common good of the American people as a nation. However, the administrative rules adopted by the Senate (and found nowhere in the US Constitution) can result in the empowerment of just one Senator (there are 100 Senators) to block a nomination for any personal and/or political reason from advancing to a vote for consideration by the Senate as a whole. This is known as a “Placing a Hold” on a designee’s consideration. Currently, Senate Republicans have placed “holds” on over 300 top level military personnel advancement (Senator Tuberville of Alabama) and over 60 nominees as foreign service officers including the ambassadors to Egypt and Lebanon (Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky). The ability of just one Senator to block a nominee’s advancement has resulted in the perversion and dysfunctioning of the orderly operation of the American government. Sadly and tragically, the US along with other countries throughout the world today find themselves in the midst of horrendous wars in Ukraine and Gaza which need serious attention. And, yet Americans are internally thwarted from promoting some of the country’s best from serving in key positions in government to help settle these very wars.
We are living in dangerous times…
Bagehot had what he thought good reasons for preferring the British cabinet system. I can’t just now find my copy of The English Constitution, but I think that one reason was the presumed greater support within Parliament for an MP. But I think that the partisanship of an American Congress usually offers enough support for a cabinet member not wholly incompetent. And as you say, early on in the history of the republic, cabinet offices often were held by men who had been leaders in Congress: Madison, Gallatin, Calhoun, J.Q. Adams, Clay, Crawford. I think that William Jennings Bryan, who served as Wilson’s first Secretary of State, might have been the last cabinet member selected for political importance. An essay of Robert Lowell’s preserves the rumor that Bryan wished to practice gunboat diplomacy on Switzerland.
Given how much time Anthony Blinken spends on the road, poor guy, I wonder how often he is able to see that lovely little family of his. Looks like they are in the Hamptons…..