The Secretary of State is a high-ranking member of the Presidents Cabinet and serves as the Presidents chief foreign affairs adviser. The Secretary of State carries out the Presidents foreign policies through the State Department and the Foreign Service of the United States. The Secretary of States duties relating to foreign affairs include the following:

• Serving as the Presidents principal adviser on U.S. foreign policy
• Conducting negotiations relating to U.S. foreign affairs
• Advising the President on the appointment of U.S. ambassadors, ministers, consuls, and other diplomatic representatives
• Advising the President regarding the acceptance, recall, and dismissal of the representatives of foreign governments
• Supervising the United States foreign service and immigration policy and administering the Department of State
• Conducting negotiations, interpreting, and terminating treaties relating to foreign policy

In addition to these foreign affairs duties, the Secretary of State also has domestic responsibilities that Congress entrusted to the State Department in 1789. These include the protection and custody of the Great Seal of the United States, the preparation of some presidential proclamations, and serving as the channel of communication between foreign governments, the federal government, and the states in the process of extraditing fugitives to or from the country.