The following is a list of persons who have held constitutional offices in all three branches of the United States federal government. Membership in this list is limited to persons who have held offices delineated in the Constitution of the United States and laws enacting the relevant constitutional provisions:
Served in the Executive Branch as President, Vice President, or another office requiring confirmation by the United States Senate; Served in the Legislative Branch as a member of either the U.S. Senate or the U.S. House of Representatives; and Served in the Judicial Branch as a United States federal judge on a court established under Article Three of the United States Constitution.
Summary
The first person to achieve this distinction was John Marshall. Marshall was confirmed to the Supreme Court in 1801, having briefly served in Congress and as Secretary of State.
The person who most recently achieved service in all three branches was James L. Buckley, who served as a U.S. Senator, in senior Senate-confirmed positions at the U.S. Department of State, and on the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals from 1985 until he assumed senior status in 1996.
The last person still serving with experience in all branches of government was Donald S. Russell, who began his third branch of service in 1966 on the District of South Carolina, then moved to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals until his death in 1998.
For a majority of listed persons, their judicial appointment was their final branch of service.
While many Presidents and Vice Presidents have also served in Congress, and one President served on the Supreme Court, none has ever served in all three branches. William Howard Taft is the only person to head both the executive and judicial branches as President and Chief Justice. James K. Polk was both Speaker of the House and President and Lyndon B. Johnson served as both Senate Majority Leader and President. Charles Evans Hughes served as Chief Justice and Secretary of State, and was an unsuccessful major party nominee for President; though he never served in a legislative position.
Eight people served as a state governor in addition to their federal government service: James F. Byrnes (South Carolina), Salmon P. Chase (Ohio), Mahlon Dickerson (New Jersey), Joe Hickey (Wyoming), John Jay (New York), Thomas B. Robertson (Louisiana), Donald S. Russell (South Carolina), and Levi Woodbury (New Hampshire).
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