United States National Security Advisor

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. 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 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, unlike the secretary of state and the secretary of defense, who are Senate-confirmed officials with statutory authority over their departments. 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 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

Notes

References

References

1. "National Security Presidential Memorandum–4 of April 4, 2017".
2. The National Security Advisor and Staff: p. 1.
3. (August 1997). "History of the National Security Council, 1947-1997". [[whitehouse.gov]].
4. Portnoy, Steven. (February 21, 2017). "McMaster will need Senate confirmation to serve as national security adviser". [[CBS News]].
5. [[#TNSAaS. The National Security Advisor and Staff]]: pp. 17-21.
6. [[#TNSAaS. The National Security Advisor and Staff]]: pp. 10-14.
7. See {{UnitedStatesCode. 22. 2651 for the Secretary of State and {{UnitedStatesCode. 10. 113 for the Secretary of Defense.
8. Clarke, Richard A.. (2004). "Against All Enemies". Free Press.
9. Schmitz, David F.. (2011). "Brent Scowcroft: Internationalism and Post-Vietnam War American Foreign Policy". [[Rowman & Littlefield]].
10. (2011). "The National Security Enterprise: Navigating the Labyrinth". [[Georgetown University Press]].
11. Burke, John P.. (2009). "Honest Broker?: The National Security Advisor and Presidential Decision Making". Texas A&M University Press.
12. "Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, National Security Policy, Volume XIX". Department of State, Office of the Historian.
13. (1960). "Organizational history of the National Security Council during the Truman and Eisenhower administrations". Central Intelligence Agency.
14. Weisman, Steven R.. (January 2, 1982). "Reagan Replacing Security Advisor, Officials Report". [[The New York Times]].
15. "Nomination of Alton G. Keel, Jr., to be the Permanent United States Representative on the Council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization | the American Presidency Project".
16. "Newly appointed national security adviser Frank Carlucci is planning... - UPI Archives".
17. [[#TNSAaS. The National Security Advisor and Staff]]: p. 33.
18. (December 1, 2008). "Key Members of Obama-Biden National Security Team Announced". The Office of the President-Elect.
19. (October 2010). "Donilon to Replace Jones as National Security Adviser". [[CNN]].
20. (June 5, 2013). "National Security Team Shuffle May Signal More Activist Stance at White House". [[Washington Post]].
21. (November 23, 2020). "Biden to Appoint Jake Sullivan as National Security Adviser". [[CBS News]].