Hoover, the Handy, Plays Many Parts
He Moves From One Task to Another in His Widely Varied Activities as Member of the Cabinet
Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover was the subject of a November 1925 New York Times Magazine profile, three years before he would be elected president.
The journalist R.V. Oulahan wrote in 1925 of Hoover’s responsibilities:
Does a strike such as the coal and railway switchmen’s walk-out confront the country? The White House sends for Mr. Hoover.
Must sharp differences be harmonized between seven States of the Union over the control and development of the Colorado River? That is a job for Mr. Hoover.
Is there prospect of immediate unemployment and remote industrial revival? Mr. Hoover takes charge of a commission to study these questions and to apply emergency measures.
Do the last two presidents have difficulty in filling the posts of Secretary of Interior and of Agriculture? Mr. Hoover is the first man asked and the first to decline.
From the perspective of 2025, it’s bonkers that somebody could go straight from being Secretary of Commerce to president. According my research, no Cabinet member (excluding the vice president) has ascended to the presidency since Hoover himself.
Several have come close. Hillary Clinton went from Secretary of State to the Democratic presidential nominee, Dick Cheney went from Secretary of State to vice president, and Marco Rubio might just go from Secretary of State to Republican presidential nominee (or even president) in 2028.
But even then, those are the “top” Cabinet positions like Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense. But Secretary of Commerce?!
Looking through the Commerce Department website official list of everybody to hold the position, you probably haven’t heard of a single other person besides Hoover. You probably can’t even name the current Secretary of Commerce. (If you’re wondering, it’s a guy named Howard Lutnick.)
Hoover, the Handy, Plays Many Parts: He Moves From One Task to Another in His Widely Varied Activities as Member of the Cabinet
Published: November 22, 1925