# List of United States Cabinet members who have served more than eight years

This is a list of United States Cabinet members who have served for more than two presidential terms.

## More than eight years in a single cabinet office

| Secretary | Department | Years of service | Length of service | Presidencies |
| James Wilson | Agriculture | 1897–1913 | 15 years, 364 days | McKinley, T. Roosevelt, Taft |
| Harold Ickes | Interior | 1933–1946 | 12 years, 346 days | F. Roosevelt, Truman |
| Albert Gallatin | Treasury | 1801–1814 | 12 years, 270 days | Jefferson, Madison |
| Frances Perkins | Labor | 1933–1945 | 12 years, 116 days | F. Roosevelt, Truman |
| Tom Vilsack | Agriculture | 2009–2017 2021–2025 | First tenure: 7 years, 359 days Second tenure: 3 years, 331 days Total tenure: 11 years, 324 days | Obama, Biden |
| Cordell Hull | State | 1933–1944 | 11 years, 271 days | F. Roosevelt |
| Henry Morgenthau | Treasury | 1934–1945 | 11 years, 202 days | F. Roosevelt, Truman |
| William Wirt | Justice | 1817–1829 | 11 years, 112 days | Monroe, J.Q. Adams |
| Andrew Mellon | Treasury | 1921–1932 | 11 years, 8 days | Harding, Coolidge, Hoover |
| James Davis | Labor | 1921–1930 | 9 years, 269 days | Harding, Coolidge, Hoover |
| William H. Crawford | Treasury | 1816–1825 | 8 years, 135 days | Madison, Monroe, J.Q. Adams |

## More than eight years over multiple cabinet offices

| Secretary | Office | Began service | Ended service | Length of service | Presidencies |
| Elaine Chao | Secretary of Labor | January 29, 2001 | January 20, 2009 | 11 years, 341 days | George W. Bush |
| Elaine Chao | Secretary of Transportation | January 31, 2017 | January 11, 2021 | 11 years, 341 days | Donald Trump |
| Henry L. StimsonHenry L. Stimson | Secretary of War | May 22, 1911 | March 4, 1913 | 10 years, 342 days | William Howard Taft |
| Henry L. StimsonHenry L. Stimson | Secretary of War | July 10, 1940 | September 21, 1945 | 10 years, 342 days | Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman |
| Henry L. StimsonHenry L. Stimson | Secretary of State | March 28, 1929 | March 4, 1933 | 10 years, 342 days | Herbert Hoover |
| George Shultz | Secretary of Labor | January 22, 1969 | July 1, 1970 | 9 years, 318 days | Richard Nixon |
| George Shultz | Secretary of the Treasury | June 12, 1972 | May 8, 1974 | 9 years, 318 days | Richard Nixon |
| George Shultz | Secretary of State | July 16, 1982 | January 20, 1989 | 9 years, 318 days | Ronald Reagan |
| Levi Woodbury | Secretary of the Navy | May 23, 1831 | June 30, 1834 | 9 years, 289 days | Andrew Jackson |
| Levi Woodbury | Secretary of the Treasury | July 1, 1834 | March 4, 1841 | 9 years, 289 days | Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren |
| Robert Smith | Secretary of the Navy | July 27, 1801 | March 4, 1809 | 9 years, 249 days | Thomas Jefferson |
| Robert Smith | Secretary of State | March 6, 1809 | April 1, 1811 | 9 years, 249 days | James Madison |
| William H. Crawford | Secretary of War | August 1, 1815 | October 22, 1816 | 9 years, 220 days | James Madison |
| William H. Crawford | Secretary of the Treasury | October 22, 1816 | March 6, 1825 | 9 years, 220 days | James Madison, James Monroe, and John Quincy Adams |
| Caspar Weinberger | Secretary of Health & Human Services | February 12, 1973 | August 8, 1975 | 9 years, 121 days | Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford |
| Caspar Weinberger | Secretary of Defense | January 21, 1981 | November 23, 1987 | 9 years, 121 days | Ronald Reagan |
| Henry A. Wallace | Secretary of Agriculture | March 4, 1933 | September 4, 1940 | 9 years, 25 days | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Henry A. Wallace | Secretary of Commerce | March 2, 1945 | September 20, 1946 | 9 years, 25 days | Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman |
| Lewis Cass | Secretary of War | August 1, 1831 | October 4, 1836 | 8 years, 352 days | Andrew Jackson |
| Lewis Cass | Secretary of State | March 6, 1857 | December 14, 1860 | 8 years, 352 days | James Buchanan |
| John C. Calhoun | Secretary of War | December 8, 1817 | March 4, 1825 | 8 years, 66 days | James Monroe |
| John C. Calhoun | Secretary of State | April 1, 1844 | March 10, 1845 | 8 years, 66 days | John Tyler and James K. Polk |
| Elihu Root | Secretary of War | August 1, 1899 | January 31, 1904 | 8 years, 13 days | William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt |
| Elihu Root | Secretary of State | July 19, 1905 | January 27, 1909 | 8 years, 13 days | Theodore Roosevelt |

## Near misses and technicalities

Several individuals have come close to this distinction; only having have missed it by months, weeks, or days. Listed below are the names of individuals who came within a year of the achievement.
* William L. Marcy missed this distinction by 2 days, having served under President James K. Polk as Secretary of War (1845–1849), and under Presidents Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan as their Secretary of State (1853–1857). Marcy served for 2921 days over these 3 administrations, just under the threshold of 2922 days.
* David F. Houston missed this distinction by 3 days, having served under President Woodrow Wilson as Secretary of Agriculture (1913–1920) and then as Secretary of the Treasury (1920–1921). Houston served for 2920 days, which is exactly 8 regular years (not accounting for leap days), leaving him just short of 2922 day threshold.
* William P. Rogers served for 2872 days in a cabinet office, 51 days short. Rogers served first under President Dwight Eisenhower as Attorney General (1957–1961) and then later under Richard Nixon as Secretary of State. Rogers earlier served in the sub-cabinet as Deputy Attorney General (1953–1957), and as a result served at a cabinet or sub-cabinet level during all 2922 days of the Eisenhower Administration.
* Richard Rush served for 2832 days in a cabinet office, 91 days short. Rush first served under James Madison and then James Monroe as their Attorney General (1814–1817). Rush also simultaneously served as acting Secretary of State for a short period under Monroe. Rush later returned to the cabinet under John Quincy Adams as his Secretary of the Treasury (1825–1829).