The National Security Council: An Organizational Assessment

Richard A. Best Jr. | Congressional Research Service | 2010-09-23

This report traces the evolution of the National Security Council, with particular focus on the organization's power and decision-making structure. The report notes that while the U.S. president clearly holds final decision-making authority over the council, over the years, the "NSC staff has emerged as a major factor in the formulation (and at times in the implementation) of national security policy" and that "Congress enacted the statute creating the NSC and has altered the character of its membership."