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.
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 Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) is an intelligence agency in the United States Department of State. Its central mission is to provide all-source intelligence and analysis in support of U.S. diplomacy and foreign policy. INR is the oldest civilian element of the U.S. Intelligence Community and among the smallest,with roughly 300 personnel. Though lacking the resources and technology of other U.S. intelligence agencies,it is "one of the most highly regarded" for the quality of its work.
Shirin R. Tahir-Kheli is an American political scientist who also served in the Department of State. In 2006,she was appointed as the first Ambassador for women's empowerment by the United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as well as Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State on United Nations Reform. She was sworn in as the First American Muslim Ambassador in July 1990. Dr. Tahir-Kheli was the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Democracy,Human Rights and International Operations at the White House National Security Council,from 2003-2005. She has served three Republican presidential administrations since 1980.
Robert Malley is an American lawyer,political scientist and specialist in conflict resolution,who was the lead negotiator on the 2015 Iran nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Michael E. Leiter is the former director of the United States National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC),having served in the Bush administration and been retained in the Obama administration. A statement released by the White House announced his resignation,effective July 8,2011. His successor,Matthew G. Olsen,was sworn in on August 16,2011. In September 2017,Leiter joined international law firm Skadden,Arps,Slate,Meagher &Flom in Washington,D.C. as a partner in its national security practice.
The White House Office is an entity within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). The White House Office is headed by the White House chief of staff,who is also the head of the Executive Office of the President. The staff work for and report directly to the president,including West Wing staff and the president's senior advisers. Almost all of the White House Office staff are political appointees of the president,do not require Senate confirmation and can be dismissed at the discretion of the president.
Kurt Michael Campbell is an American diplomat and businessman serving as the United States deputy secretary of state since 2024. He previously served as deputy assistant advisor to President Biden and National Security Council coordinator for the Indo-Pacific from 2021 to 2024. In this capacity,Campbell had been referred to as the Biden administration's "Asia coordinator" or "Asia czar"—chief architect of Joe Biden's Asia strategy.
Kenneth Leonard Wainstein is an American lawyer. He served as the first assistant attorney general for national security,and later as the homeland security advisor to United States President George W. Bush. In 2022 under the Biden administration,he was appointed under secretary of homeland security for intelligence and analysis.
Philip H. Gordon is an American diplomat and international relations scholar. From March 21,2022 to January 20,2025 he served as Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor to the Vice President of the United States,Kamala Harris. Earlier in his career,he was Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs (2009–2011) and Special Assistant to the President and White House Coordinator for the Middle East,North Africa,and the Persian Gulf Region (2013–2015) during the Obama administration.
Lisa Oudens Monaco is an American attorney who served as the 39th United States deputy attorney general from 2021 to 2025. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Stephen Brent Slick is a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operations officer and United States National Security Council official. He is the inaugural director of the Intelligence Studies Project at the University of Texas at Austin,where he is also a Clinical Professor at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs and the Bobby R. Inman Chair in Intelligence Studies.
Elizabeth D. Sherwood-Randall is an American national security and energy leader,public servant,educator,and author who served as the 11th United States Homeland Security Advisor to President Joe Biden from 2021-2025. She previously served in both the Clinton and Obama administrations and held appointments at academic institutions and think tanks.
Bathsheba "Sheba" Nell Crocker is an American diplomat who had served as the Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva. She previously served as Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs from 2014 to 2017.
Russell E. Travers is an American national security official who served as the deputy director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC). Travers first took the role on November 13,2017,and later became acting director. He resumed his duties as deputy on December 28,2018,following Joseph Maguire's swearing in as NCTC director. Travers again became acting director on August 16,2019,after Maguire became Acting Director of National Intelligence. He was dismissed on March 18,2020.
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.
Brett Michael Holmgren is an American intelligence official who served as assistant secretary of state for intelligence and research in the Biden administration from 2021 to 2024. He also served as the acting director for the National Counterterrorism Center from 2024 to 2025.
Christine Sandra Abizaid is an American intelligence officer who was the director of the National Counterterrorism Center in the Biden 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.
Joshua Geltzer is an American lawyer and national security expert. He currently serves as Deputy Assistant to the President of the United States Joe Biden,Deputy White House Counsel,&Legal Adviser to the United States National Security Council.
