The Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, commonly referred to as the Homeland Security Advisor and formerly the Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, is a senior aide in the National Security Council, based in the West Wing of the White House, who serves as principal advisor to the President of the United Statesonhomeland security and counterterrorism issues.
| Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism | |
|---|---|
 | |
Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall since January 20, 2021 | |
| Executive Office of the President Homeland Security Council | |
| Reports to | President of the United States White House Chief of Staff United States National Security Advisor |
| Appointer | President of the United States |
| Constituting instrument | Homeland Security Act 2002 |
| Formation | 2001 |
| First holder | Tom Ridge |
| Deputy | Joshua Geltzer |
The Homeland Security Advisor is also a statutory member of the United States Homeland Security Council. Serving at the pleasure of the President, the Homeland Security Advisor does not require Senate confirmation for appointment to the office.
In the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks, President George W. Bush announced the creation of the interim Office of Homeland Security as a cabinet-level office in a speech to a joint session of Congress.[1] He appointed Tom Ridge as its first director. The Homeland Security Council was formally created on October 5, 2001, replacing the Office of Homeland Security.
Under the George W. Bush administration, the Homeland Security Advisor was independent of the National Security Council, residing within the Homeland Security Council. Under the Obama administration, while the Homeland Security Council remained, the Advisor held the title of Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, subordinating the position to the National Security Advisor.
At the start of the Trump administration, the position of Homeland Security Advisor, occupied by Tom Bossert, was elevated to the rank of Assistant to the President, making it equal in rank to the National Security Advisor. However, after clashes with the National Security Advisor, John Bolton, the position returned to the rank of Deputy Assistant to the President and was subordinate to the National Security Advisor.[2]
Democratic Republican Independent
| Image | Name | Start | End | Duration | President | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Tom Ridge | October 8, 2001 | January 24, 2003 | 1 year, 126 days | George W. Bush | ||
|
John Gordon | April 30, 2003 | July 28, 2004 | 1 year, 89 days | |||
|
Fran Townsend | July 28, 2004 | March 30, 2008 | 3 years, 246 days | |||
|
Ken Wainstein | March 30, 2008 | January 20, 2009 | 296 days | |||
|
John Brennan | January 20, 2009 | January 25, 2013 | 4 years, 5 days | Barack Obama | ||
|
Lisa Monaco | January 25, 2013 | January 20, 2017 | 3 years, 361 days | |||
|
Tom Bossert | January 20, 2017 | April 10, 2018 | 1 year, 49 days | Donald Trump | ||
|
Rob Joyce Acting |
April 10, 2018 | May 31, 2018 | 51 days | |||
|
Doug Fears | June 1, 2018 | July 12, 2019 | 1 year, 41 days | |||
|
Peter Brown | July 12, 2019 | February 7, 2020 | 210 days | |||
|
Julia Nesheiwat | February 20, 2020 | January 20, 2021 | 334 days | |||
|
Liz Sherwood-Randall | January 20, 2021 | present | 3 years, 185 days | Joe Biden | ||