Only 2 of 15 original cabinet secretaries of the Obama administration remain

(Image credit: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

last updated 8 January 2015

For those who haven't been keeping track, scandal, charges of incompetency, and sudden resignations will soon leave Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Agriculture Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack as the only two remaining secretaries who have been in the Obama administration since his inauguration in 2009.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel most recently made a vacancy in the administration's cabinet with his resignation, and Attorney General Eric Holder, who has been with the administration since day one, will officially step down when a replacement is named.

Though it is rare for cabinet secretaries to hold their posts for two full terms, Duncan and Vilsack both have excellent relationships with the president. Duncan has known Obama for years (he served as chief of city schools in Chicago) and the two frequently play basketball together. Vilsack shares a love of sports with the president, and the two are known to engage, as all best friends do, "in deep, detailed discussions of agricultural policy."