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.
The assistant to the president for national security affairs (APNSA),commonly referred to as the national security advisor (NSA),is a senior aide in the Executive Office of the President,based at the West Wing of the White House. The national security advisor serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all national security issues. The national security advisor participates in meetings of the National Security Council (NSC) and usually chairs meetings of the principals committee of the NSC with the secretary of state and secretary of defense. The NSA also sits on the Homeland Security Council (HSC). The national security advisor is supported by NSC staff who produce classified research and briefings for the national security advisor to review and present,either to the NSC or the president. The national security advisor is appointed by the president and does not require confirmation by the United States Senate. An appointment of a three- or four-star general to the role requires Senate confirmation to maintain that rank in the new position.
Brent Scowcroft was a United States Air Force officer who was a two-time United States National Security Advisor,first under U.S. President Gerald Ford and then under George H. W. Bush. He served as Military Assistant to President Richard Nixon and as Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs in the Nixon and Ford administrations. He served as Chairman of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005,and advised President Barack Obama on choosing his national security team.
Michèle Angélique Flournoy is an American defense policy advisor who served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy under President Bill Clinton and under secretary of defense for policy under President Barack Obama.
Morton H. Halperin is an American analyst who deals with U.S. foreign policy,arms control,civil liberties,and the workings of bureaucracies.
Lloyd James Austin III is a retired U.S. Army officer and current civil servant who has served as the 28th United States Secretary of Defense since January 22,2021.
Thomas Edward Donilon is an American lawyer,business executive,and former government official who served as the 22nd National Security Advisor in the Obama administration from 2010 to 2013. Donilon also worked in the Carter and Clinton administrations. He is now Chairman of the BlackRock Investment Institute,the firm's global think tank.
John Francis Kelly is an American former political advisor and retired U.S. Marine Corps general who was White House chief of staff for President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2019. He had previously been Secretary of Homeland Security in the Trump administration and was commander of United States Southern Command. Kelly is a board member at Caliburn International,a professional-services provider.
Brian H. Hook is an American diplomat,lawyer and government official. In 2021,he joined Cerberus Capital Management as vice chairman for global investments. He is an adjunct professor at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy.
Antony John Blinken is an American lawyer and diplomat currently serving as the 71st United States secretary of state. He previously served as deputy national security advisor from 2013 to 2015 and deputy secretary of state from 2015 to 2017 under President Barack Obama. Blinken was previously national security advisor to then–Vice President Joe Biden from 2009 to 2013.
Noah Shachtman is an American journalist and musician. He was the editor-in-chief of Rolling Stone. From 2018 to 2021,he served as the editor-in-chief of The Daily Beast. He previously was the executive editor of the site. A former non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution,he also worked as executive editor for News at Foreign Policy and as a contributing editor at Wired.
Elizabeth D. Sherwood-Randall is an American national security and energy leader,public servant,educator,and author currently serving as the 11th United States Homeland Security Advisor to President Joe Biden since 2021. She previously served in both the Clinton and Obama Administrations and held appointments at academic institutions and think tanks.
Donald Trump assumed office as the 45th president of the United States on January 20,2017,and his first 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.
David Lutz Norquist is an American financial management professional and former government official who served as the 34th United States deputy secretary of defense from 2019 to 2021. In May of 2022,Norquist was selected as the president and chief executive officer of the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA).
Kirstjen Michele Nielsen is an American attorney who served as United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2017 to 2019. She is a former principal White House deputy chief of staff to President Donald Trump,and was chief of staff to John F. Kelly during his tenure as Secretary of Homeland Security.
Steven Patrick Schrage is a former State Department,Congressional,and think tank official. He has appeared or provided comments on foreign affairs and politics for major media outlets including NBC Nightly News,Fox News,the BBC,the Washington Post,and the New York Times.
Brian Patrick McKeon is an American attorney and national security advisor who served as the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources in the Biden Administration from March 2021 to December 2022.
Karen H. Gibson is the Sergeant at Arms of the United States Senate and a retired military intelligence officer.
Julianne Smith is an American foreign policy advisor and diplomat who served as the United States Permanent Representative to NATO in the Biden administration from 2021 until 2024. She previously served as deputy national security advisor to then-Vice President Biden in the Obama administration.
Alexandra Nicole Baker,known as Sasha Baker,is an American policy advisor who served as deputy under secretary of defense for policy at the Department of Defense.
