National Security Advisor (United States) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
Incumbent Marco Rubio since May 1, 2025
Executive Office of the President
Member of	National Security Council Homeland Security Council
Reports to	President of the United States
Appointer	President of the United States
Constituting instrument	National Security Presidential Memorandum
Formation	1953
First holder	Robert Cutler
Deputy	Deputy National Security Advisor

The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, often called the National Security Advisor (NSA), is a very important helper to the President of the United States. This person works in the Executive Office of the President, located in the West Wing of the White House.

The National Security Advisor is the main person who advises the President on all issues about national security. This means they help the President make decisions to keep the country safe. The NSA also attends meetings of the National Security Council (NSC). They often lead meetings of top officials from the NSC, like the Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense, when the President is not there. The NSA is also part of the Homeland Security Council (HSC).

The President chooses the National Security Advisor. This person usually does not need to be approved by the United States Senate. However, if a three- or four-star general is chosen for the job, the Senate must approve them to keep their military rank. The current acting National Security Advisor is Marco Rubio, who started on May 1, 2025.

What the National Security Advisor Does

The job and power of the National Security Advisor can change a lot. It depends on who is in the role and how the President likes to manage things. Ideally, the National Security Advisor helps the President by giving honest advice on different ways to handle national security issues. They are not supposed to push their own ideas too much.

The National Security Advisor works directly for the President. They do not control the budgets or operations of big departments like the State Department or the Defense Department. The Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense, for example, are approved by the Senate and run their own departments. Because the National Security Advisor works so closely with the President, they can offer daily advice without being influenced by the large organizations of those departments.

During a crisis, the National Security Advisor often works from the White House Situation Room. They might also work from the Presidential Emergency Operations Center. Their job is to keep the President updated on the latest events. For example, they were very active during the September 11, 2001 events.

History of the Role

President George H. W. Bush meeting with his National Security Council about Operation Desert Shield in 1991.

The National Security Council was created in 1947, at the beginning of the Cold War. Its purpose was to help coordinate defense, foreign affairs, and intelligence. This was part of a big change that also created the Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency. The law that created the NSC did not create the National Security Advisor job directly. Instead, it created an executive secretary to lead the staff. In 1949, the NSC became part of the President's main office.

Robert Cutler was the first National Security Advisor in 1953. He held the job twice during President Eisenhower's time in office. The way the system works has stayed mostly the same since then. Especially since President John Kennedy, National Security Advisors have had a lot of power and strong staff.

President Richard Nixon's National Security Advisor, Henry Kissinger, made the role even more important. He controlled what information reached the President and met with him many times a day. Kissinger also served as both National Security Advisor and Secretary of State at the same time for a while. He holds the record for serving the longest in this role, for 2,478 days. Michael Flynn holds the record for the shortest term, serving only 24 days.

Brent Scowcroft held the job for two different Presidents: President Gerald Ford and President George H. W. Bush.

List of National Security Advisors

The table below shows the people who have served as the National Security Advisor.      Denotes acting

No.	Image	Name		Start	End	Duration	President
1			Cutler, RobertRobert Cutler	March 23, 1953	April 2, 1955	2 years, 10 days		Eisenhower, Dwight D.Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961)
2			Anderson, DillonDillon Anderson	April 2, 1955	September 1, 1956	1 year, 152 days
–			Jackson, WilliamWilliam Jackson Acting	September 1, 1956	January 7, 1957	128 days
3			Cutler, RobertRobert Cutler	January 7, 1957	June 24, 1958	1 year, 168 days
4			Gray, GordonGordon Gray	June 24, 1958	January 13, 1961	2 years, 203 days
5			Bundy, McGeorgeMcGeorge Bundy	January 20, 1961	February 28, 1966	5 years, 39 days		Kennedy, John F.John F. Kennedy (1961–1963)
								Johnson, Lyndon B.Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969)
6			Rostow, WaltWalt Rostow	April 1, 1966	January 20, 1969	2 years, 294 days
7			Kissinger, HenryHenry Kissinger	January 20, 1969	November 3, 1975	6 years, 287 days		Nixon, RichardRichard Nixon (1969–1974)
								Ford, GeraldGerald Ford (1974–1977)
8			Scowcroft, BrentBrent Scowcroft	November 3, 1975	January 20, 1977	1 year, 78 days
9			Brzezinski, ZbigZbig Brzezinski	January 20, 1977	January 20, 1981	4 years, 0 days		Carter, JimmyJimmy Carter (1977–1981)
10			Allen, RichardRichard Allen	January 21, 1981	January 4, 1982	348 days		Reagan, RonaldRonald Reagan (1981–1989)
–			Nance, JamesJames Nance Acting	November 30, 1981	January 4, 1982	35 days
11			Clark, WilliamWilliam Clark	January 4, 1982	October 17, 1983	1 year, 286 days
12			McFarlane, RobertRobert McFarlane	October 17, 1983	December 4, 1985	2 years, 48 days
13			Poindexter, JohnJohn Poindexter	December 4, 1985	November 25, 1986	356 days
–			Keel, AltonAlton Keel Acting	November 26, 1986	December 31, 1986	35 days
14			Carlucci, FrankFrank Carlucci	January 1, 1987	November 23, 1987	326 days
15			Powell, ColinColin Powell	November 23, 1987	January 20, 1989	1 year, 58 days
16			Scowcroft, BrentBrent Scowcroft	January 20, 1989	January 20, 1993	4 years, 0 days		Bush, George H. W.George H. W. Bush (1989–1993)
17			Lake, TonyTony Lake	January 20, 1993	March 14, 1997	4 years, 53 days		Clinton, BillBill Clinton (1993–2001)
18			Berger, SandySandy Berger	March 14, 1997	January 20, 2001	3 years, 312 days
19			Rice, CondoleezzaCondoleezza Rice	January 20, 2001	January 25, 2005	4 years, 5 days		Bush, George W.George W. Bush (2001–2009)
20			Hadley, StephenStephen Hadley	January 26, 2005	January 20, 2009	3 years, 360 days
21			Jones, JamesJames Jones	January 20, 2009	October 8, 2010	1 year, 261 days		Obama, BarackBarack Obama (2009–2017)
22			Donilon, TomTom Donilon	October 8, 2010	July 1, 2013	2 years, 266 days
23			Rice, SusanSusan Rice	July 1, 2013	January 20, 2017	3 years, 203 days
24			Michael Flynn	January 20, 2017	February 13, 2017	24 days		Trump, DonaldDonald Trump (2017–2021)
–			Kellogg, KeithKeith Kellogg Acting	February 13, 2017	February 20, 2017	7 days
25			McMaster, H. R.H. R. McMaster	February 20, 2017	April 9, 2018	1 year, 48 days
26			Bolton, JohnJohn Bolton	April 9, 2018	September 10, 2019	1 year, 154 days
–			Kupperman, CharlieCharlie Kupperman Acting	September 10, 2019	September 18, 2019	8 days
27			O'Brien, RobertRobert O'Brien	September 18, 2019	January 20, 2021	1 year, 124 days
28			Sullivan, JakeJake Sullivan	January 20, 2021	January 20, 2025	4 years, 0 days		Biden, JoeJoe Biden (2021–2025)
29			Waltz, MikeMike Waltz	January 20, 2025	May 1, 2025	101 days		Trump, DonaldDonald Trump (2025–present)
–			Rubio, MarcoMarco Rubio Acting	May 1, 2025		53 days

See also

• White House Chief of Staff
• Homeland Security Council
• Homeland Security Advisor

In Spanish: Consejero de Seguridad Nacional (Estados Unidos) para niños