The United States National Security Council (NSC) is the principal forum 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.
Melania Trump is a Slovenian-American former model and businesswoman who served as the first lady of the United States from 2017 to 2021, as the wife of former president Donald Trump.
James Norman Mattis is an American military veteran who served as the 26th United States secretary of defense from 2017 to 2019. A former Marine Corps four-star general, he commanded forces in the Persian Gulf War, the War in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War.
Dina Powell, also known as Dina Powell McCormick is an American financial executive, philanthropist, and political advisor, best known for having been the United States Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategy to President Donald Trump.
Kathleen Troia McFarland is an American political commentator, civil servant, author, and former political candidate.
The Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security, or USC(IS), is a high-ranking official in the United States Department of Commerce and the principal advisor to the United States Secretary of Commerce on the export of sensitive goods and technologies. The Under Secretary is the head of the Bureau of Industry and Security within the Commerce Department.
Evelyn Nicolette Farkas is an American national security advisor, author, and foreign policy analyst. She is the current executive director of the McCain Institute, a nonprofit focused on democracy, human rights, and character-driven leadership.
Donald Trump assumed office as president of the United States on January 20, 2017, and his term ended on January 20, 2021. The president has the authority to nominate members of his Cabinet to the United States Senate for confirmation under the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution.
Matthew Forbes Pottinger is an American former journalist and U.S. Marine Corps officer who served as the United States deputy national security advisor from September 22, 2019 to January 7, 2021. Previously Asia director on the National Security Council since 2017, his tenure was unusual among senior aides serving under President Trump for its length, given an administration marked by high turnover. Pottinger worked to develop the Trump administration's policies towards China.
Ricky Lynn Waddell is a retired lieutenant general in the United States Army Reserve who served as a Deputy National Security Advisor to President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2018 and as the Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2018 to 2021. His promotion to lieutenant general was authorized by the United States Senate on 26 September 2019. He retired from active military service in October 2021.
Robert Story Karem is an American policy advisor and government official who served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs in the Department of Defense.
Margaret Judith Ann Peterlin is an American lawyer, United States Navy veteran, and former Commerce Department and congressional aide. She was the Chief of Staff to the United States Secretary of State, appointed to the position by former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, from February 2017 until the end of March 2018. Since July 6, 2018, she has served as the senior vice president of global external and public affairs for AT&T.
Claire M. Grady is a former American government official who served in areas of national defense and security procurement. She served as the Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Management, as well as the acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security from August 2017 until April 2019. Prior to assuming her the role, she served as director of defense procurement and acquisition policy at the United States Department of Defense. In her previous capacity in the U.S. Department of Defense, Grady was a member of the Defense Acquisition Board.
Nadia Catherine Schadlow is an American academic and defense-related government officer who briefly served in 2018 as Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategy in the Trump Administration. She is the primary author of the 2017 National Security Strategy (NSS).
"I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration" is an anonymous essay published by The New York Times on September 5, 2018. The author was described as a senior Trump administration official. About a week before the 2020 United States presidential election, Miles Taylor, who had been deputy chief of staff to the Department of Homeland Security's secretary Kirstjen Nielsen when writing the essay, revealed himself as the author. The op-ed criticizes Donald Trump and states that many current members of the administration deliberately undermine his suggestions and orders for the good of the country. It also states that some cabinet members in the early days of the administration discussed using the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution as a way to remove the president from power.
Charles Martin Kupperman was the United States Deputy National Security Advisor for President Donald Trump, a position he held from January to September 2019. He also was the acting United States National Security Advisor for eight days in September 2019 between John Bolton and Robert C. O'Brien.
Earl G. Matthews is an American government official and attorney who held senior positions within the Department of the Army and at the White House during the administration of President Donald Trump. Matthews was a member of Trump's Department of Defense transition team and was appointed as a Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense, James N. Mattis on January 20, 2017. Matthews was subsequently appointed as the Principal Deputy General Counsel of the Army on June 21, 2019. He served as Acting General Counsel of the Army from June 21, 2017, until James E. McPherson was sworn in as General Counsel on January 2, 2018.
Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty is an American scientist and former government official who served as the under secretary of energy for nuclear security and administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration. Earlier in her career, she had served in various other leadership positions in the Department of Energy and the National Security Council.
Michael Ellis is an American attorney, Republican political operative, and former government official. He is a visiting fellow for law and technology with The Heritage Foundation's Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies. Ellis previously worked in multiple positions in the George W. Bush administration, for Republican congressman Devin Nunes and the Trump administration, being called a Donald Trump loyalist. He worked as a legal advisor to the National Security Council and was later appointed as Senior Director for Intelligence for the agency. In December 2021, he became the general counsel for the online video platform Rumble.
The core White House staff appointments, and most Executive Office of the President officials generally, are not required to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, with a handful of exceptions. There are about 4,000 positions in the Executive Office of the President.
