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National Security Council
The National Security Council (NSC) was a forum within the Executive Office of the President focused on national security and foreign policy. It was established in 1947 by the National Security Act. In 1949, it was moved to the Executive Office of the President.[1]
The NSC includes six statutory members. Other officers, such as the director of national intelligence, are invited to participate in meetings as considered appropriate by each administration.[2]
President Donald Trump (R) did not select the National Security Council as a division of the Executive Office of the President during his second presidential term.
Mission
The Biden White House provided the following mission for the NSC:
| “ |
The National Security Council is the President’s principal forum for national security and foreign policy decision making with his or her senior national security advisors and cabinet officials, and the President’s principal arm for coordinating these policies across federal agencies. Today’s challenges demand a new and broader understanding of national security–one that facilitates coordination between domestic and foreign policy as well as among traditional national security, economic security, health security, and environmental security. The Biden-Harris NSC recognizes and reflects this reality.[3] |
” |
| —White House[1] | ||
Structure
While the National Security Council is an advisory body to the president, it has expanded to include staff and several decision-making committees. The council's activities are directed by the national security adviser. Different administrations use different structures to organize the council, but the following decision-making committees typically exist in some form: the principal committee, the deputies committee, and the policy coordination committees.[4]
Membership
Under the Trump administration, the National Security Council included the following members:[5]
- Statutory members
- President
- Vice president
- Secretary of state
- Secretary of defense
- Secretary of energy
- Treasury secretary
- Director of the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy
- Additional members
- Attorney general
- Secretary of the interior
- White House chief of staff
- National security advisor
- Secretary of homeland security
- Advisory members
- Director of national intelligence
- Deputy national security advisor or deputy homeland security advisor
- Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
- Director of the CIA
- Additional invitees
- Counsel to the president
- Deputy chief of staff for policy
- Assistant to the president for policy
- Deputy counsel to the president for national security
Executive Office of the President
- See also: Executive Office of the President
The Executive Office of the President (EOP) is a group of federal entities responsible for advising and supporting the president's policy agenda and administration. The EOP's composition has changed over time as different presidential administrations have added, transferred, and removed entities from the office.
Under the second Trump administration, the EOP included the following 5 offices:
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms National Security Council. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Donald Trump presidential administration, 2025
- Domestic Policy Council
- Council of Economic Advisers
- Executive Branch
External links
- National Security Council at the White House
- The National Security Council: Background and Issues for Congress
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 White House, "National Security Council," accessed March 19, 2021
- ↑ Legal Information Institute, "50 U.S. Code § 3021 - National Security Council," accessed March 19, 2021
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Congressional Research Service, "The National Security Council: Background and Issues for Congress," April 28, 2017
- ↑ White House, "Organization of the National Security Council and Subcommittees," January 20, 2025
