Trump Releases Memo on Organization of the National Security Council

On Jan. 20, President Donald Trump released a national security presidential memorandum on the organization of the National Security Council (NSC) and its subcommittees. As outlined in the memo and the National Security Act of 1947, the function of the NSC and its staff is to “advise the President with respect to the integration of domestic, foreign, and military policies relating to national security.” According to the memo, the NSC—in addition to its subordinate committees and staff—serves as:

…the President’s principal means for coordinating Executive departments and agencies in the development and implementation of national and homeland security policies, strategies, activities, and functions, their integration across departments and agencies within their purview, and for long-term strategic planning.

NSC membership consists of the president, vice president, secretaries of state, treasury, defense, energy, and the director of the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy. Additional members of the council designated by Trump include the attorney general, the secretary of the interior, White House chief of staff, and the national security advisor. When NSC convenes as the Homeland Security Council—which has the specific purpose of advising the president on matters relating to homeland security—members also include the secretary of homeland security and the homeland security advisor. Those welcome to attend NSC meetings when permitted by the national security advisor (and homeland security advisor, when relevant) as non-voting advisors include the director of national intelligence, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and the assistant to the president and counsel to the president, among others. 

The memo also outlines NSC members’ right to propose agenda items, and specifies that the purposes of the national security advisor and subordinate staff are to “advise and assist the President in the course of conducting activities that relate to or affect the carrying out of the President’s constitutional, statutory, or other official or ceremonial duties pertaining to national or homeland security,” among other responsibilities.

The memo also describes the functions and responsibilities of, voting process, and the role of the national security advisor in the Principals Committee and Deputies Committee, among various other specifications.