general who didn't have a department at the time but was basically the government's lawyer who was edmund randolph? when did the secretary's first meet collectively and why? so the secretaries met as a group for their first time in april 1791 president george washington was leaving the capital at the time, which was philadelphia and he was going on a tour of the southern states. this was the first tour he had done at the southern states, and he was planning to be gone for a couple of months. and he knew that there was a possibility that something might come up that would need an immediate response and he might not be able to give an immediate answer because the post took a really long time at that point. so he gave them the power to meet as group if an issue came up and to then send his their decision to him and he would basically ratify the decision and that happened in april 1791. what precedent did washington set? washington said so many precedents as president. he established the title of president. he established how to nominate supreme court justices, but in terms of the cabinet, that's one