National Security Council

Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20504

202-456-1414
http://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc

STATUTORY MEMBERS

STATUTORY ADVISORS

STANDING PARTICIPANTS

The above list of key personnel was updated 3–2021.

ESTABLISHMENT AND ORGANIZATION

On July 26, 1947, President Harry S. Truman signed Public Law 80–253, which is also cited as the National Security Act of 1947. By enacting this legislation, the U.S. Congress sought "to provide for the establishment of integrated policies and procedures for the departments, agencies, and functions of the Government relating to the national security; to provide three military departments for the operation and administration of the Army, the Navy . . . and the Air Force, with their assigned combat and service components; to provide for their authoritative coordination and unified direction under civilian control but not to merge them; to provide for the effective strategic direction of the armed forces and for their operation under unified control and for their integration into an efficient team of land, naval, and air forces." The law established "a council to be known as the National Security Council" and stipulated that the President should preside over its meetings (61 Stat. 496).

The National Security Council (NSC) was placed in the Executive Office of the President by Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1949 (5 U.S.C. app.).

The statutory members (PL 81–216) of the NSC—in addition to the President, who chairs the Council—are the Vice President and the Secretaries of State and Defense (63 Stat. 579). The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the statutory military adviser to the NSC, and the Director of National Intelligence serves as its intelligence adviser. The Secretary of the Treasury, the U.S. Representative to the United Nations, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, and the Chief of Staff to the President are invited to all meetings of the NSC. The Attorney General and the Director of National Drug Control Policy are invited to attend meetings pertaining to their jurisdictions, and other officials are invited, as appropriate.

STATUTORY AND REGULATORY AUTHORITIES

Codified content on the National Security Council from Section 101 of the National Security Act of 1947 was formerly located in "Chapter 15—National Security" of 50 U.S.C.and classified editorially as section 402. That content has been subsequently transferred to "Chapter 44—National Security" of 50 U.S.C. and editorially reclassified as section 3021.

NSC rules and regulations are codified in 32 CFR 2100–2199. Within title 32, sections 2100–2199 constitute "Chapter XXI—National Security Council."

ACTIVITIES

The NSC advises and assists the President, in conjunction with the National Economic Council, with the integration of all aspects of national security policy—domestic, economic, foreign, intelligence, and military—that affects the United States.

Sources of Information

Archived Records

The "Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United States" indicates that NSC records have been assigned to record group 273.

Federal Register

Documents that the NSC published in the Federal Register are accessible online.

The Sources of Information above were updated 2–2021.