National Security Council (U.S.)

The United States National Security Council, usually called the NSC, is a White House body created by the National Security Act of 1947. Its core job is to advise the president and coordinate policy on national security, foreign affairs, and military matters.

The president chairs the council, and its regular statutory members include the vice president plus the secretaries of state and defense. Over time, the NSC has become one of the main places where presidents bring together senior advisers to respond to wars, crises, intelligence concerns, and major foreign-policy choices.

Because it works so close to the president, the NSC has often played an outsized role in modern American history. It is not an author in the usual sense, but as a government institution it has shaped strategy papers, policy decisions, and the behind-the-scenes process that guides U.S. national security.