Guest blog post by Acting Secretary of Commerce Cameron Kerry.

Earlier this month, I was honored to take the helm at the Department of Commerce as Acting Secretary. Having served as the Department’s General Counsel for the last four years, I have come to know and cherish the exceptional work that the people at Commerce do to promote innovation and economic growth, provide world-class science for the benefit of the American people, and expand our exports and global trade. I’m proud to have been called on to lead this work as Acting Secretary.

While taking the leadership role at the Department of Commerce is a very special point in my career, my tenure as Acting Secretary also marks the first time in U.S. history that two siblings have served together in the President’s cabinet, as the Boston Globe pointed out in a piece this week. My older brother John, of course, is the U.S. Secretary of State.

Siblings throughout history have served in Administrations simultaneously – such as the Dulles brothers, who served as Secretary of State (John Foster Dulles) and CIA Director (Allen Dulles) during the Dwight D. Eisenhower Administration. But never before have two brothers served in the Cabinet – which includes the Vice President and the heads of 15 executive departments – at the same time.