Bad ends, good ends, and everything in between: Secretarial duration and exit in the United States cabinet, 1929-2013

Cabinet secretaries lead executive branch departments. As public administrators they manage employees, set policy, and oversee services. Yet unlike managers who serve in relative anonymity, cabinet secretaries are executives who are very much in the public eye. Their successes or failures have consequences for the president and can help define how successful or unsuccessful the president appears.