The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (APNSA), commonly referred to as the National Security Advisor (NSA),
[The National Security Advisor and Staff: p. 1.] is a senior aide in the
Executive Office of the President, based at the
West Wing of the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
. The National Security Advisor serves as the principal advisor to the
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...
on all
national security issues. 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
Advice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in enacting formulae of bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts. It describes either of two situations: where a weak executive branch of a government enacts something previ ...
to maintain that rank in the new position.
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
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in so ...
(those meetings not attended by the President). 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 National Security Council or directly to the President.
Role
The influence and role of the National Security Advisor varies from administration to administration and depends not only on the qualities of the person appointed to the position, but also on the style and management philosophy of the incumbent president.
[ The National Security Advisor and Staff: pp. 17-21.] Ideally, the National Security Advisor serves as an honest broker of policy options for the president in the field of national security, rather than as an advocate for his or her own policy agenda.
[ The National Security Advisor and Staff: pp. 10-14.]
The National Security Advisor is a staff position in the
Executive Office of the President and does not have
line or budget authority over either the
Department of State or the
Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to:
Current departments of defence
* Department of Defence (Australia)
* Department of National Defence (Canada)
* Department of Defence (Ireland)
* Department of National Defense (Philipp ...
, unlike the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, who are Senate-confirmed officials with statutory authority over their departments.
[See for the Secretary of State and for the Secretary of Defense.] The National Security Advisor is able to offer daily advice (due to the proximity) to the president independently of the vested interests of the large bureaucracies and clientele of those departments.
In times of crisis, the National Security Advisor is likely to operate from the
White House Situation Room or the
Presidential Emergency Operations Center (as on
September 11, 2001),
updating the president on the latest events in a crisis situation.
History
The National Security Council was created at the start of the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...
under the
National Security Act of 1947 to coordinate defense, foreign affairs, international economic policy, and intelligence; this was part of a large reorganization that saw the creation of the Department of Defense and the
Central Intelligence Agency.
The Act did not create the position of the National Security Advisor per se, but it did create an executive secretary in charge of the staff. In 1949, the NSC became part of the Executive Office of the President.
Robert Cutler was the first National Security Advisor in 1953, and held the job twice, both times during the Eisenhower administration. The system has remained largely unchanged since then, particularly since President John Kennedy, with powerful National Security Advisors and strong staff but a lower importance given to formal NSC meetings. This continuity persists despite the tendency of each new president to replace the advisor and senior NSC staff.[
President Richard Nixon's National Security Advisor, Henry Kissinger, enhanced the importance of the role, controlling the flow of information to the president and meeting with him multiple times per day. Kissinger also holds the distinction of serving as National Security Advisor and Secretary of State at the same time from September 22, 1973, until November 3, 1975.][ He holds the record for longest term of service (2,478 days); Michael Flynn holds the record for shortest term, at just 24 days.
Brent Scowcroft held the job in two non-consecutive administrations: the Ford administration and the George H. W. Bush administration.
]
List
See also
* White House Chief of Staff
* Homeland Security Council
* Homeland Security Advisor
Notes
References
Further reading
*Falk, Stanley L., "The National Security Council under Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy". ''Political Science Quarterly'' 79.3 (1964): 403–434
online
* George, Robert Z. and Rishikof, Harvey, eds., ''The National Security Enterprise: Navigating the Labyrinth'' (2nd ed.: Georgetown University Press, 2017)
Excerpt
* Preston, Andrew, "The Little State Department: McGeorge Bundy and the National Security Council Staff, 1961‐65". ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'' 31.4 (2001): 635–659
Online
* Rothkopf, David, ''Running the world: The inside story of the National Security Council and the architects of American power''. (PublicAffairs, 2009).
External links
WhiteHouse.gov/NSC
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Security Advisor
Assistants to the President of the United States
United States National Security Council
United States diplomacy