Presidential Directives and National Security Memoranda

Since the National Security Council was created in 1947, presidents have used formal directives to record national security decisions and assign tasks to departments. Each administration has given them its own name: NSC papers under Harry Truman, including the 1950 strategy document NSC-68, National Security Action Memoranda under John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, National Security Decision Directives under Ronald Reagan, Presidential Decision Directives under Bill Clinton, National Security Presidential Directives under George W. Bush, Presidential Policy Directives under Barack Obama, and National Security Presidential Memoranda and National Security Memoranda in recent administrations.

Directives can set strategy, establish policies on matters such as counterterrorism, cybersecurity, and space, authorize programs, and reorganize decision-making within the NSC system. Many are classified, and unlike executive orders they need not be published in the Federal Register, though some are released in full or in summary, and older ones are declassified over time. The Justice Department regards them as having the same legal effect as executive orders when they are issued under the President's authority, and they remain in force until revoked or replaced.

Because many directives are secret, Congress and the public may not know the policies that govern sensitive programs, and lawmakers have periodically sought to require that they be shared with intelligence and armed services committees. In 2025 the President issued national security memoranda on a range of subjects, including a September 2025 directive on countering domestic political violence that critics said could be used against lawful advocacy groups. Supporters say directives give presidents a flexible, confidential way to manage national security, while critics say secrecy allows significant policy changes without accountability.