What is the National Security Council?

The National Security Council is the principal forum within the executive branch for the President to consider national security and foreign policy matters with senior advisors. The National Security Council was established by the National Security Act of 1947, which restructured the U.S. national security apparatus after World War II. The council operates within the White House and has both statutory and discretionary members.

The statutory members of the NSC are the President, the Vice President, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Energy, and the Secretary of Homeland Security. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the statutory military advisor, and the Director of National Intelligence is the statutory intelligence advisor. The U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations is also a regular participant. Other officials are added at the President's discretion. Most administrations include the Attorney General, the White House Chief of Staff, the National Security Advisor (who heads the NSC staff), and other senior officials. Specific officials may attend particular meetings depending on the topic.

The NSC staff is led by the National Security Advisor, formally the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. The staff coordinates national security policy across the federal government, prepares analytical papers for the President, drafts presidential decision documents, and manages the interagency process for developing and implementing national security policies. The NSC staff has grown significantly since the 1940s. Originally a small group of fewer than 50 staff, the NSC staff today includes hundreds of policy experts on regional and functional issues, drawn from the State Department, Defense Department, intelligence agencies, the military, and academia.

NSC meetings vary in formality and structure. Some Presidents have held formal Principals Committee meetings, where the senior officials gather around the table in the Situation Room, while others have preferred smaller, less formal meetings. The Situation Room, located in the basement of the White House West Wing, is the secure conference facility where most NSC meetings take place.

The NSC has been at the center of major national security decisions throughout the post-World War II era, including the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, decisions on Vietnam War policy, the response to the September 11, 2001 attacks, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the operation that killed Osama bin Laden in 2011, the U.S. response to Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and many others. National Security Advisors have included influential figures such as Henry Kissinger, Brent Scowcroft, Condoleezza Rice, Susan Rice, John Bolton, Robert O'Brien, Jake Sullivan, and Mike Waltz.