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The President's Cabinet
Included in the 1902 West Wing addition was the Cabinet Room, the place where the President meets with the members of his Cabinet, the National Security Council, members of Congress, and Heads of State.
An oval mahogany conference table, a gift from President Nixon in 1970, fills the room. When the Cabinet meets around the table, each Cabinet member is assigned a chair positioned at the table according to the date the department was established. The President occupies the taller chair at the center of the east side of the table. The Vice President sits opposite the President. The Secretary of State, ranking first among the department heads, sits on the President's right. The Secretary of the Treasury, ranking second, sits to the Vice President's right. The Secretary of Defense (third) sits to the President's left, and the Attorney General (fourth) sits to the Vice President's left. When Cabinet members conclude their terms of service, they are permitted to purchase their cabinet chairs, which bear brass plates indicating their cabinet position or positions and dates of service
Overlooking the Rose Garden, the Cabinet Room contains likenesses of former Presidents and statesmen, the choice reflecting the preferences of the current President. President Bush has selected marble busts of Washington and Franklin and portraits of Theodore Roosevelt, Jefferson, Eisenhower and Washington as well as a painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.