# United States National Security Council

The United States National Security Council (NSC) is the national security council used by the president of the United States for consideration of national security, military, and foreign policy matters. Based in the White House, it is part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, and composed of senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials.
Since its inception in 1947 by President Harry S. Truman, the function of the council has been to advise and assist the president on national security and foreign policies. It also serves as the president's principal arm for coordinating these policies among various government agencies. The council has subsequently played a key role in most major events in U.S. foreign policy, from the Korean War to the War on Terror.
The NSC has counterparts in the national security councils of many other nations.

## History

The immediate predecessor to the National Security Council was the National Intelligence Authority (NIA), which was established by President Harry S. Truman's Executive Letter of January 22, 1946, to oversee the Central Intelligence Group, the CIA's predecessor. The NIA was composed of the secretary of state, the secretary of war, the secretary of the navy, and the chief of staff to the commander in chief.
The National Security Council was created in 1947 by the National Security Act. It was created because policymakers felt that the diplomacy of the State Department was no longer adequate to contain the Soviet Union in light of the tension between the Soviet Union and the United States. The intent was to ensure coordination and concurrence among the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and other instruments of national security policy such as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), also created in the National Security Act. In 2004, the position of Director of National Intelligence (DNI) was created, taking over the responsibilities previously held by the head of the CIA, the director of central intelligence, as a cabinet-level position to oversee and coordinate activities of the Intelligence Community
On May 26, 2009, President Barack Obama merged the White House staff supporting the Homeland Security Council (HSC) and the National Security Council into one National Security Staff (NSS). The HSC and NSC each continue to exist by statute as bodies supporting the president. The name of the staff organization was changed back to National Security Council Staff in 2014.
The Directorate of Global Health Security and Biodefense was formed in 2016 under the Obama administration, disbanded in 2018 under the Trump Administration, and reinstated in January 2021 during the presidency of Joe Biden.
On January 29, 2017, President Donald Trump restructured the Principals Committee (a subset of the full National Security Council), while at the same time altering the attendance of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and director of national intelligence.
According to "National Security Presidential Memorandum 2", the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and director of national intelligence were to only sit on the Principals Committee as and when matters pertaining to them arise, but will remain part of the full National Security Council. However, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus clarified the next day that they still are invited to attend meetings. With "National Security Presidential Memorandum 4" in April 2017, the director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff "shall" attend Principals Committee meetings and the director of the Central Intelligence Agency was included as a regular attendee. The reorganization also placed the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development as a permanent member of the Deputies Committee, while the White House chief strategist was removed.

## Authority and powers

The National Security Council was established by the National Security Act of 1947 (PL 235 – 61 Stat. 496; U.S.C. 402), amended by the National Security Act Amendments of 1949 (63 Stat. 579; 50 U.S.C. 401 et seq.). Later in 1949, as part of the Reorganization Plan, the council was placed in the Executive Office of the President.
The High Value Detainee Interrogation Group also reports to the NSC.

### Kill authorizations

One of the tasks of the National Security Council is to determine and identify people, including United States citizens who are deemed to be threats to national security and add them to a "kill list". In this case, no public record of this decision or any operation to kill the suspect will be made available. The panel's actions are justified by "two principal legal theories": They "were permitted by Congress when it authorized the use of military forces against militants in the wake of the attacks of September 11, 2001; and they are permitted under international law if a country is defending itself."
Homeland Security Advisor John O. Brennan, who helped codify targeted killing criteria by creating the Disposition Matrix database, has described the Obama Administration targeted killing policy by stating that "in order to ensure that our counterterrorism operations involving the use of lethal force are legal, ethical, and wise, President Obama has demanded that we hold ourselves to the highest possible standards and processes".
Reuters reported that Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen, was on such a kill list and was killed accordingly.
On February 4, 2013, NBC published a leaked Department of Justice memo providing a summary of the rationale used to justify targeted killing of US citizens who are senior operational leaders of Al-Qa'ida or associated forces.

## Membership

The National Security Council, as of 2021 and as per statute and National Security Memorandum–2, is chaired by the president. Its members are the vice president (statutory), the secretary of state (statutory), the secretary of the treasury (statutory), the secretary of defense (statutory), the secretary of energy (statutory), the assistant to the president for national security affairs (non-statutory), the assistant to the president and director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (non-statutory), the attorney general (non-statutory), the secretary of homeland security (non-statutory), and the representative of the United States to the United Nations (non-statutory).
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the military advisor to the council, the director of national intelligence is the intelligence advisor, and the director of national drug control policy is the drug control policy advisor. The chief of staff to the president, White House counsel, and the assistant to the president for economic policy are also regularly invited to attend NSC meetings. The attorney general, the director of the Office of Management and Budget and the director of the Central Intelligence Agency are invited to attend meetings pertaining to their responsibilities. The heads of other executive departments and agencies, as well as other senior officials, are invited to attend meetings of the NSC when appropriate.
Structure of the United States National Security Council :
| Chairman | President |
| Regular attendees | Vice PresidentSecretary of StateSecretary of DefenseSecretary of EnergySecretary of the TreasuryAttorney GeneralSecretary of Homeland SecurityAmbassador to the United NationsAdministrator of the Agency for International DevelopmentWhite House Chief of StaffNational Security Advisor |
| Military advisor (and regular attendee) | Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff |
| Intelligence advisor (and regular attendee) | Director of National Intelligence |
| Drug policy advisor | Director of National Drug Control Policy |
| Regular attendees | Deputy National Security AdvisorHomeland Security Advisor |
| Additional participants | White House CounselDirector of the Central Intelligence AgencyAssistant to the President for Economic PolicyUnited States Trade RepresentativeDirector of the Office of Management and BudgetU.S. Special Presidential Envoy for ClimateWhite House COVID-19 Response Coordinator |

### Principals Committee

The Principals Committee of the National Security Council is the Cabinet-level senior interagency forum for consideration of national security policy issues. The Principals Committee is convened and chaired by the national security advisor. The regular attendees of the Principals Committee are the secretary of state, the secretary of the treasury, the secretary of defense, the attorney general, the secretary of energy, the secretary of homeland security, the White House chief of staff, the director of national intelligence, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the homeland security advisor, and the United States ambassador to the United Nations.
The White House counsel, the deputy counsel to the president for national security affairs, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, the deputy national security advisor, the deputy national security advisor for strategy, the national security advisor to the vice president, and the NSC executive secretary may also attend all meetings of the Principals Committee. When considering international economic issues, the Principals Committee's regular attendees will include the secretary of commerce, the United States trade representative, and the assistant to the president for economic policy.

### Deputies Committee

The National Security Council Deputies Committee is the senior sub-Cabinet interagency forum for consideration of national security policy issues. The Deputies Committee is also responsible for reviewing and monitoring the interagency national security process including for establishing and directing the Policy Coordination Committees. The Deputies Committee is convened and chaired by the deputy national security advisor or the deputy homeland security advisor.
Regular members of the Deputies Committee are the deputy national security advisor for strategy, the deputy secretary of state, deputy secretary of the treasury, the deputy secretary of defense, the deputy attorney general, the deputy secretary of energy, the deputy secretary of homeland security, the deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, the deputy director of national intelligence, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the national security advisor to the vice president, the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, and the deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Invitations to participate in or attend specific meetings are extended to deputy or under secretary level of executive departments and agencies and to other senior officials when relevant issues are discussed. The executive secretary and the deputy White House counsel also attend. The relevant senior director on the National Security Council staff is also invited to attend when relevant.

### Policy Coordination Committees

The Policy Coordination Committees of the National Security Council, established and directed by the Deputies Committee, are responsible for the management of the development and implementation of national security policies through interagency coordination. Policy Coordination Committees are the main day-to-day for interagency coordination of national security policy development, implementation and analysis in aide of the Deputies Committee and the Principals Committee. Policy Coordination Committees are chaired by senior directors on the National Security Council staff, or sometimes National Economic Council staff, with assistant secretary–level officials from the relevant executive department or agency acting as co-chairs.

### Directorate of Global Health Security and Biodefense

The Directorate of Global Health Security and Biodefense was created by Barack Obama in 2016 in response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak. Its goal was "to prepare for the next disease outbreak and prevent it from becoming an epidemic or pandemic." The directorate was disbanded when a May 2018 change in organizational structure by John Bolton, Trump's recently appointed head of the National Security Council, resulted in the effective elimination of the office then led by Rear Admiral Tim Ziemer, Sr. Director for Global Health Security and Biothreats. Remaining staff were moved to other NSC departments, prompting Ziemer's resignation, thus completing the elimination of the office.
The responsibilities that formerly belonged to the directorate, along with those of arms control and nonproliferation, and of weapons of mass destruction terrorism, were absorbed into a single new directorate, counterproliferation and biodefense, and assigned to Tim Morrison in July 2018 as director. Morrison characterized the consolidation as part of an overall NSC "reduction of force" and called it "specious" to say the office was "dissolved", describing the previous size of the organization as "bloat", and stating "That is why Trump began streamlining the NSC staff in 2017." Trump defended the 2018 cuts, describing the financial motivation, when questioned in a February 2020 press conference, suggesting that people on a pandemic response team are unnecessary between pandemics, saying "Some of the people we cut, they haven't been used for many, many years." No source of information could be found to support the president's statement, likely because the team was created in 2016 and disbanded in 2018. He continued: "And rather than spending the money—and I'm a business person—I don't like having thousands of people around when you don't need them." The size of the team before cuts was estimated at 430 people, but the "thousands" referenced by the president also included reduction in the staff numbers of the CDC.
In January 2021, the directorate was reinstated by President Joe Biden, who appointed Elizabeth Cameron as Senior Director for Global Health Security and Biodefense, a position she had previously held under the Obama administration and briefly under the Trump administration.

### New members

During his presidential transition, President-elect Joe Biden announced the creation of the position of U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, the occupant of which will be a member of the National Security Council.

## Key staff

* Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor: Michael Waltz
** Senior Advisor to the National Security Advisor: Ariana Berengaut
** Deputy Assistant to the President & Chief of Staff and Executive Secretary for the National Security Council: Curtis Ried
**** Advisor to the Chief of Staff and Executive Secretary for the National Security Council: Medha Raj
*** Deputy Chief of Staff and Deputy Executive Secretary: Ryan Harper
**** Deputy Director for Visits and Diplomatic Affairs: Darius Edgerton
**** Associate Director for Visits and Diplomatic Affairs: Nicole Fasano
*** Director of Operations Ryan Abdelnabi
** Assistant to the President and Principal Deputy National Security Advisor: Alex Wong
*** Senior Advisor to the Principal Deputy National Security Advisor: Ella Lipin
** Assistant to the President and Homeland Security Advisor and Deputy National Security Advisor: Stephen Miller
**** Senior Advisor to the Homeland Security Advisor: Hilary Hurd
**** Senior Advisor to the Homeland Security Advisor: John MacWilliams
*** Deputy Assistant to the President & Deputy Homeland Security Advisor: Joshua Geltzer
**** Senior Director for Counter-terrorism: Clare Linkins
***** Director for Counter-terrorism: Caitlin Conley
***** Director for Counter-terrorism: Alexandra Miller
***** Director for Counter-terrorism: Annie Rohrhoff
***** Director for Counter-terrorism - Global Threats / Embassy Security: Derek Dela-Cruz
***** Director for Counter-terrorism - Homeland Threats: Michael Massetti
***** Director for Threat Finance & Sanctions: Samantha Sultoon
***** Director for Counternarcotics: Coqui Baez Gonzalez
**** Senior Director for Resilience and Response: Caitlin Durkovich
***** Director for Resilience and Response: Nabeela Barbari
***** Director for Resilience and Response: Capt. Jason Tama (US Coast Guard)
** Deputy Assistant to the President & Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology: Anne Neuberger
*** Senior Advisor to the Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology: Sezaneh Seymour
*** Deputy Assistant to the President & Co-ordinator for Technology and National Security: Jason Matheny
**** Senior Director for Technology and National Security: Tarun Chhabra
***** Director for Technology and National Security: Saif M. Khan
***** Director for Technology and National Security: Michelle Rozo
***** Director for Technology and National Security: Sarah Stalker-Lehoux
***** Director for Technology and Democracy: Chanan Weissman
*** Senior Director for Cyber: Andrew Scott
**** Director for International Cyber Policy: Teddy Nemeroff
*** Senior Director for Cybersecurity and Policy: Steven Kelly
**** Director for Cybersecurity and Emerging Technology Policy: Jonah Force Hill
**** Director for Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity: Elke Sobieraj
**** Director for Cybersecurity Policy and Cyber Incident Response: Travis Berent
** Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics: Daleep Singh
*** Senior Director for International Economics and Competitiveness: Peter Harrell
**** Director for International Economics and Competitiveness: Adam Deutsch
**** Director for International Economics and Competitiveness: Jessica McBroom
**** Director for Digital Technology Policy and International Economics: Ruth Berry
*** Senior Director for International Economics and Labor: Jennifer M. Harris
**** Director for International Economics: Brian Janovitz
**** Director for International Economics: Mimi Wang
**** Director for Strategic Workforce Planning: Leila Elmergawi
** Assistant to the President, Deputy Counsel to the President and National Security Council Legal Advisor: John R. Phillips III
*** Associate Counsel and Deputy Legal Advisor to the NSC: Ashley Deeks
*** Deputy Legal Advisor to the NSC: Capt. Florencio Yuzon (US Navy)
*** Director for Global Criminal Justice: Steven Hill
** Deputy Assistant to the President & Co-ordinator for Defense Policy and Arms Control: Cara Abercrombie
*** Senior Director for Defense:
**** Director for Defense Innovation and Cyber Policy: Lt. Col. Amanda Naylor (US Air Force)
**** Director for Space Policy: Audrey Schaffer
**** Director for Strategic Capabilities: Brigadier General John Edwards (US Air Force)
**** Director for Military Personnel & Readiness/ Senior Advisor, Gender Policy Council: Cailin Crockett
*** Senior Director for Arms Control, Disarmament & Non-Proliferation: Pranay Vaddi
** Senior Director for Strategic Planning: Thomas J. Wright
*** Director for Strategic Planning: Alexander Bick
*** Director for Strategic Planning: Rebecca Lissner
*** Director for Strategic Planning: Brett Rosenberg
** Senior Director for Partnerships and Global Engagement: Amanda Mansour
*** Director for Partnerships: Jim Thompson
** Senior Director for Legislative Affairs: Casey Redmon
*** Director for Legislative Affairs: Amanda Lorman
*** Director for Legislative Affairs: Nicole Tisdale
**** Chief of Staff & Policy Advisor for Legislative Affairs: Gershom Sacks
** Senior Director for Global Health Security and Biodefense: Raj Panjabi
*** Director for Biodefense: Daniel Gastfriend
*** Director for Biotechnology Risks and Biological Weapon Nonproliferation: Megan Frisk
*** Director for Countering Biological Threats & Global Health Security: Mark Lucera
*** Director for Medical and Biodefense Preparedness/ Director for International COVID Response: Hilary Marston
*** Senior Advisor and Director for Emerging Biological Threats: Maureen Bartee
** Deputy Assistant to the President & Co-ordinator for the Indo-Pacific: Kurt M. Campbell
*** Senior Director for East Asia and Oceania: Edgard Kagan
**** Director for East Asia: Christopher Johnstone
**** Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands: Kathryn Paik
*** Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for South and Central Asian Affairs: Ricky Gill
*** Senior Director for South Asia: Sumona Guha
*** Special Assistant, National Security Council Indo-Pacific Directorate: Sarah Donilon
** Senior Director for Intelligence Programs: Maher Bitar
*** Director for Information Sharing and Identity Intelligence: Lauren Hartje
** Senior Director for Development, Global Health & Humanitarian Response: Linda Etim
*** Director for Global Health: Ladan Fakory
*** Director for Global Health Response: Nidhi Bouri
*** Director for Humanitarian Coordination: Rachel Grant
*** Director for Refugees: Jacqui Pilch
** Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs: Juan Gonzalez
*** Special Assistant to the Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs: Alejandra Gonzalez
*** Director for the Caribbean and Summit of the Americas: Neda Brown
*** Director for Central America and Haiti: Megan Oates
*** Director for North America: Isabel Rioja-Scott
*** Director for Regional Protection and Migration Management: Eric Sigmon
** Assistant to the President & White House National Security Communications Advisor: John Kirby
*** Senior Director for Press & NSC Spokesperson: Adrienne Watson
**** Director of Strategic Communications/ Assistant Press Secretary: Patrick Evans
**** Director of Strategic Communications/ Assistant Press Secretary: Dean Lieberman
**** Director of Strategic Communications/ Assistant Press Secretary: Kedenard Raymond
**** Director of Strategic Communications/ Assistant Press Secretary: Sean Savett
***** Policy Advisor, Office of the Spokesperson and Senior Director for Press/ Strategic Communications: Jasmine Williams
** Senior Director for Africa: Dana L. Banks
*** Director for African Affairs: F. David Diaz
*** Director for African Affairs: Peter Quaranto
*** Director for African Affairs: Joseph Dufour
*** Director for Africa: Deniece Laurent-Mantey
*** Special Advisor for Africa Strategy: Judd Devermont
** Deputy Assistant to the President & Coordinator for Democracy and Human Rights: Shanthi Kalathil
*** Senior Director for Democracy and Human Rights: Robert G. Berschinski
**** Director for Democracy and Human Rights: Tess McEnery
**** Director for Democracy and Human Rights: Brian Vogt
**** Director for Human Rights and Civil Society: Jesse Bernstein
**** Director for Anticorruption: Chandana Ravi
** Senior Director for Russia and Central Asia: Eric Green
*** Director for Afghanistan: Allison Varricchio
*** Director for Russia: Katrina Elledge
** Senior Director for Europe: Amanda Sloat
*** Director for Balkans and Central Europe: Robin Brooks
** Deputy Assistant to the President & Co-ordinator for Middle East and North Africa: Brett McGurk
*** Senior Director for Middle East and North Africa: Stephanie Hallett (acting)
**** Director for Gulf Affairs: Stephanie Hallett
**** Director for the Arabian Peninsula: Evyenia Sidereas
**** Director for Iran: Sam Parker
**** Director for Iraq and Syria: Zehra Bell
**** Director for Israeli-Palestinian Affairs: Julie Sawyer
**** Director for Jordan and Lebanon: Maxwell Martin
**** Director for North African Affairs: Josh Harris
**** Director for Political-Military Affairs and Yemen: K.C. Evans
**** Director for Political-Military Affairs: Col. Daniel Mouton (US Army)
** Senior Director for Energy & Climate Change: Melanie Nakagawa
*** Director for Climate Diplomacy and Energy Transformation: Helaina Matza
*** Director for Climate Investment, Trade, and Environment: Victoria Orero
*** Director for Climate Security and Resilience: Jennifer DeCesaro
** Senior Director for Speechwriting and Strategic Initiatives: Carlyn Reichel
** Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs: Josh Black
*** Director for Multilateral Affairs: Robert E. Kris
*** Director for Global Engagement and Multilateral Diplomacy at the NSC and NEC: Andy Rabens
** Senior Director for Trans-border: Katie Tobin
*** Director for Trans-border Security: Ashley Feasley