National Security Council

The National Security Council is a U.S. executive-branch body that advises the president on national security and foreign policy. It coordinates policy across departments but does not itself command the armed forces.

National Security Advisor: The president’s principal adviser on national security and the head of the National Security Council staff. The advisor directs the staff that prepares options and coordinates decisions for the council.
National Security Act of 1947: A U.S. law that reorganized national defense and created the National Security Council, CIA, and National Military Establishment. It established the council as a permanent institution within the executive branch.
President of the United States: The elected head of the U.S. executive branch and commander in chief of the armed forces. The president chairs the council and makes the executive decisions it advises on.
Joint Chiefs of Staff: The U.S. military’s senior uniformed leadership, comprising the service chiefs and the chairman and vice chairman. Unlike the council, it is a military advisory body and does not coordinate the full range of national policy.
National Security Council staff: The White House staff that supports the National Security Council and coordinates national-security policy across agencies. Its policy directorates and committees do much of the council’s day-to-day coordinating work.
Harry S. Truman: The 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. Truman signed the 1947 law that created the council and used it to coordinate Cold War policy.
Secretary of State: The head of the U.S. Department of State and the president’s principal foreign-policy adviser within the cabinet. The secretary brings diplomatic expertise and departmental responsibilities into council deliberations.
United States National Security Council system: The wider U.S. framework of officials, committees, and procedures used to advise the president on national security. The council is the statutory body at the center of a larger system of policy coordination.
Principals Committee: A senior interagency committee of cabinet-level officials that considers national-security issues for the National Security Council. It brings the most senior department heads together to resolve issues before presidential decisions.
Cold War: The prolonged geopolitical rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies after World War II. The council’s creation reflected the need to coordinate U.S. policy amid a continuing global rivalry.

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