National Security Council

National Security Council (NSC), agency of the executive office of the president of the U.S., created by the National Security Act of 1947. The NSC is charged with advising the president in matters relating to the integration of domestic, foreign, and military policies affecting national security. The four statutory members are the president, the vice president, and the secretaries of state and defense. The director of central intelligence and the chairperson of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are statutory advisers to the NSC; the assistant to the president for national security affairs is the NSC's chief staff officer. Other officials of the executive branch may attend NSC meetings at the invitation of the president. Between the late 1960s and the early '80s, the NSC assumed an increasing role in implementing as well as formulating policy, and its staff expanded accordingly.