Membership
The National Security Council is chaired by the President. Its regular attendees (both statutory and non-statutory) are the Vice President (statutory), the Secretary of State (statutory), the Secretary of Treasury (non-statutory), the Secretary of Defense (statutory), and the National Security Advisor (non-statutory).
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the statutory military advisor to the Council, the Director of National Intelligence is the statutory intelligence advisor, and the Director of National Drug Control Policy is the statutory drug control policy advisor. The Chief of Staff to the President, Counsel to the President, and the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy are also invited to attend any NSC meeting. The Attorney General and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget are invited to attend meetings pertaining to their responsibilities. The heads of other executive departments and agencies, as well as other senior officials, are invited to attend meetings of the NSC when appropriate.
| Structure of the United States National Security Council (Current) | |
|---|---|
| Chair | Barack Obama (President of the United States) |
| Statutory Attendees | Joe Biden (Vice President of the United States) Hillary Clinton (Secretary of State) Leon Panetta (Secretary of Defense) |
| Military Advisor | Gen. Martin Dempsey (US Army) (Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) |
| Intelligence Advisor | Lt. Gen. James R. Clapper (Ret.) (Director of National Intelligence) Michael Morell (Acting Director of the Central Intelligence Agency) |
| Drug Policy Advisor | Gil Kerlikowske (Director of National Drug Control Policy) |
| Regular Attendees | Tom Donilon (National Security Advisor) Jacob Lew (White House Chief of Staff) Denis McDonough (Deputy National Security Advisor) |
| Additional Participants | Tim Geithner (Secretary of the Treasury) Eric Holder (Attorney General) Janet Napolitano (Secretary of Homeland Security) Pete Rouse (Counselor to the President) Gene Sperling (Assistant to the President for Economic Policy) Susan Rice (Ambassador to the United Nations) Jeffrey Zients (Acting Director of Office of Management and Budget) John O. Brennan (Homeland Security Advisor) |
Read more about this topic: United States National Security Council
Famous quotes containing the word membership:
“The two real political parties in America are the Winners and the Losers. The people don’t acknowledge this. They claim membership in two imaginary parties, the Republicans and the Democrats, instead.”
—Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (b. 1922)