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Treasurer of the United States

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Treasurer of the United States
since September 12, 2022
United States Department of Treasury
Reports toUnited States Secretary of the Treasury
United States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury
SeatTreasury Building
Washington, D.C.
AppointerPresident of the United States
Term lengthNo fixed term
FormationMay 14, 1777; 247 years ago (1777-05-14)
First holderMichael Hillegas

The treasurer of the United States is an officer in the United States Department of the Treasury who serves as the custodian and trustee of the federal government's collateral assets and the supervisor of the department's currency and coinage production functions. As of September 12, 2022, the treasurer is Marilynn Malerba, who is the first Native American to hold the office.[1]

Responsibilities

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By law, the treasurer is the depositary officer of the United States with regard to deposits of gold, special drawing rights,[2] and financial gifts to the Library of Congress.[3] The treasurer also directly oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) and the United States Mint, which respectively print and mint U.S. currency and coinage. In connection to the influence of federal monetary policy on currency and coinage production, the treasurer liaises on a regular basis with the Federal Reserve.[4]

The duty perhaps most widely associated with the treasurer of the United States is affixing a facsimile signature to all Federal Reserve notes. Federal law requires both the treasurer's signature and the treasury secretary's countersignature for Federal Reserve notes to be considered legal tender.[5]

Moreover, the treasurer serves as a senior advisor and representative of the Treasury Department on behalf of the secretary in the areas of community development and public engagement.[4]

History

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Creation

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On July 29, 1775, long before the Department of the Treasury ever existed, the Second Continental Congress established the Treasury Office to manage revolutionary wartime finances. Congress chose George Clymer and Michael Hillegas as joint treasurers of the United Colonies. On August 6, 1776, however, Clymer resigned from his post, thus making Hillegas the sole incumbent. The position received its current name on May 14, 1777, while Hillegas was still in office.[6]

Change in functions over the years

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The post of U.S. treasurer predates the United States Constitution. The treasurer was originally charged with the receipt and custody of all government funds independent of the treasury secretary, not unlike today's elected state treasurers. Beginning in 1939, the Office of the Treasurer and its cash management activities were brought under the direction of a broader Fiscal Service, one that also coordinated governmentwide accounting and debt management. Later in 1974, the cash management function in its entirety was transferred from the treasurer to what is now known as the Bureau of the Fiscal Service as a cost-saving measure.[7] Responsibility for oversight of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) and the United States Mint was later assigned to the treasurer in 1981.[8][6] In 1994, the treasurer was also named National Honorary Director of the U.S. Savings Bonds Campaign and therefore assigned the task of promoting - as opposed to managing - the program.[9]

More recently, the requirement of the United States Senate confirmation for the appointment was dropped in August 2012.[10]

Since the resignation of Elizabeth Rudel Smith in 1962, the non-continuous total length of time the office has been vacant is nearly 4,700 days, nearly thirteen years, while in the 180+ years prior to that, such time totaled less than a year.

Female officeholders

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Georgia Neese Clark Gray became treasurer on June 21, 1949, making her the first woman to hold the office.[11] Since then, every subsequent treasurer has been a woman,[11] and several of those women have also been Hispanic, starting with Romana Acosta Bañuelos in 1971.[12]

List of treasurers

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No. Name Term of office President(s) served under
1

Michael Hillegas
July 29, 1775 –
September 11, 1789 (14 years, 44 days)
George Washington
(also served under Confederation Congress)
Hillegas served jointly with George Clymer until August 6, 1776.
The title of the office was "Treasurer of the United Colonies" until May 14, 1777.[6]
2 Samuel Meredith September 11, 1789 –
December 1, 1801 (12 years, 81 days)
George Washington
John Adams
Thomas Jefferson
3
Thomas T. Tucker
December 1, 1801 –
May 2, 1828 (26 years, 153 days)
(served the longest term)
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
James Monroe
John Quincy Adams
33 days vacant
4
William Clark
June 4, 1828 –
May 26, 1829 (356 days)
John Quincy Adams
Andrew Jackson
5 John Campbell May 26, 1829 –
July 20, 1839 (10 years, 55 days)
Andrew Jackson
Martin Van Buren
2 days vacant
6 William Selden July 22, 1839 –
November 23, 1850 (11 years, 124 days)
(served under the most presidents)
Martin Van Buren
William Henry Harrison
John Tyler
James K. Polk
Zachary Taylor
Millard Fillmore
4 days vacant
7
John Sloane
November 27, 1850 –
April 1, 1853
(2 years, 125 days)
Millard Fillmore
Franklin Pierce
3 days vacant
8 Samuel L. Casey April 4, 1853 –
December 22, 1859 (6 years, 262 days)
Franklin Pierce
James Buchanan
68 days vacant
9
William C. Price
February 28, 1860 –
March 21, 1861 (1 year, 21 days)
James Buchanan
Abraham Lincoln
10

Francis E. Spinner
March 16, 1861 –
July 30, 1875 (14 years, 136 days)
Abraham Lincoln
Andrew Johnson
Ulysses S. Grant
11

John C. New
June 30, 1875 –
July 1, 1876
(1 year, 1 day)
Ulysses S. Grant
12

A. U. Wyman
July 1, 1876 –
June 30, 1877 (364 days)
Ulysses S. Grant
Rutherford B. Hayes
13

James Gilfillan
July 1, 1877 –
March 31, 1883 (5 years, 273 days)
Rutherford B. Hayes
James A. Garfield
Chester A. Arthur
14

A. U. Wyman
April 1, 1883 –
April 30, 1885 (2 years, 29 days)
Chester A. Arthur
Grover Cleveland
15
Conrad N. Jordan
May 1, 1885 –
March 23, 1887 (1 year, 326 days)
Grover Cleveland
62 days vacant
16

James W. Hyatt
May 24, 1887 –
May 10, 1889 (1 year, 351 days)
Grover Cleveland
Benjamin Harrison
17

James N. Huston
May 11, 1889 –
April 24, 1891 (1 year, 348 days)
Benjamin Harrison
18

Enos H. Nebeker
April 25, 1891 –
May 31, 1893 (2 years, 36 days)
Benjamin Harrison
Grover Cleveland
19

Daniel N. Morgan
June 1, 1893 –
June 30, 1897 (4 years, 29 days)
Grover Cleveland
William McKinley
20

Ellis H. Roberts
July 1, 1897 –
June 30, 1905 (7 years, 364 days)
William McKinley
Theodore Roosevelt
21
Charles H. Treat
July 1, 1905 –
October 30, 1909 (4 years, 121 days)
Theodore Roosevelt
William Howard Taft
22

Lee McClung
November 1, 1909 –
November 21, 1912 (3 years, 20 days)
William Howard Taft
23

Carmi A. Thompson
November 22, 1912 –
March 31, 1913 (129 days)
(served the shortest term)
William Howard Taft
Woodrow Wilson
24

John Burke
April 1, 1913 –
January 5, 1921 (7 years, 279 days)
Woodrow Wilson
117 days vacant
25

Frank White
May 2, 1921 –
May 1, 1928
(6 years, 365 days)
Warren G. Harding
Calvin Coolidge
30 days vacant
26
Harold Theodore Tate
May 31, 1928 –
January 17, 1929 (231 days)
Calvin Coolidge
27
W. O. Woods
January 18, 1929 –
May 31, 1933 (4 years, 133 days)
Calvin Coolidge
Herbert Hoover
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
28

William Alexander Julian
June 1, 1933 –
May 29, 1949 (15 years, 362 days)
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Harry S. Truman
23 days vacant
29

Georgia Neese Clark
June 21, 1949 –
January 27, 1953 (3 years, 220 days)
Harry S. Truman
Dwight D. Eisenhower
30

Ivy Baker Priest
January 28, 1953 –
January 29, 1961 (8 years, 1 day)
Dwight D. Eisenhower
John F. Kennedy
31

Elizabeth Rudel Smith
January 30, 1961 –
April 13, 1962 (1 year, 73 days)
John F. Kennedy
265 days vacant
32

Kathryn O'Hay Granahan
January 3, 1963 –
November 22, 1966 (3 years, 323 days)
John F. Kennedy
Lyndon B. Johnson
898 days vacant
33 Dorothy Andrews Elston[13] May 8, 1969 –
July 3, 1971
(2 years, 56 days)
Richard Nixon
167 days vacant
34

Romana Acosta Bañuelos
December 17, 1971 –
February 14, 1974 (2 years, 59 days)
Richard Nixon
127 days vacant
35

Francine Irving Neff
June 21, 1974 –
January 19, 1977 (2 years, 212 days)
Richard Nixon
Gerald Ford
236 days vacant
36

Azie Taylor Morton
September 12, 1977 –
January 20, 1981 (3 years, 130 days)
Jimmy Carter
56 days vacant
37
Angela Marie Buchanan
March 17, 1981 –
July 5, 1983
(2 years, 110 days)
Ronald Reagan
79 days vacant
38

Katherine D. Ortega
September 22, 1983 –
July 1, 1989
(5 years, 282 days)
Ronald Reagan
George H. W. Bush
163 days vacant
39

Catalina Vasquez Villalpando
December 11, 1989 –
January 20, 1993 (3 years, 40 days)
George H. W. Bush
405 days vacant
40

Mary Ellen Withrow
March 1, 1994 –
January 20, 2001 (6 years, 325 days)
Bill Clinton
208 days vacant
41

Rosario Marin
August 16, 2001 –
June 30, 2003 (1 year, 318 days)
George W. Bush
569 days vacant
42

Anna Escobedo Cabral
January 19, 2005 –
January 20, 2009 (4 years, 1 day)
George W. Bush
198 days vacant
43

Rosa Gumataotao Rios
August 6, 2009 –
July 11, 2016
(6 years, 340 days)
Barack Obama
343 days vacant
44
Jovita Carranza
June 19, 2017 – January 14, 2020
(2 years, 209 days)
Donald Trump
972 days vacant
45
Marilynn Malerba
September 12, 2022 – present
(2 years, 40 days)
Joe Biden

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Hussein, Fatima (June 19, 2022). "Malerba sworn in as 1st Native American in US Treasurer post". apnews.com. Archived from the original on September 15, 2022. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
  2. ^ 12 U.S.C. § 467: Deposits of gold coin, gold certificates, and Special Drawing Right certificates with United States Treasurer
  3. ^ 2 U.S.C. § 157: Funds of Library of Congress Trust Fund Board; management of
  4. ^ a b "Treasurer". home.treasury.gov. U.S. Department of the Treasury. Archived from the original on August 31, 2022. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  5. ^ Rappeport, Alan (December 8, 2022). "Yellen Is First Female Treasury Secretary With Signature on U.S. Dollar". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022. By tradition, the treasurer must sign the money along with the Treasury secretary. Both signatures are engraved onto plates at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, where they are printed and submitted to the Federal Reserve, which determines what currency will be added to circulation.
  6. ^ a b c "History of the Treasury". home.treasury.gov. U.S. Department of the Treasury. Archived from the original on August 29, 2022. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  7. ^ Bureau of the Fiscal Service. "Our History". U.S. Department of the Treasury. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  8. ^ "Records of the Treasurer of the United States". archives.gov. National Archives. August 15, 2016. Archived from the original on May 15, 2022. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  9. ^ "Duties and Functions FAQs". U.S. Department of the Treasury. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  10. ^ "Presidential Appointment Efficiency and Streamlining Act of 2011" (PDF). GovInfo. August 10, 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 6, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  11. ^ a b Cruz, Lenika (August 13, 2014). "Why Have All the U.S. Treasurers Since 1949 Been Women?". theatlantic.com. Archived from the original on August 14, 2014. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
  12. ^ Hocking, Bree (February 15, 2005). "Latina Treasurer Trend Creates a Mystery in D.C." rollcall.com. Archived from the original on January 27, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2005.
  13. ^ "Treasurers of the United States". Archived from the original on April 6, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
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