Title 6, Domestic SecurityRelease 119-110
§493 Membership
Title 6 › CHAPTER 1 — HOMELAND SECURITY ORGANIZATION › SUBCHAPTER IX — NATIONAL HOMELAND SECURITY COUNCIL › § 493
Summary
Says who serves on the Council: the President, the Vice President, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Defense, and anyone else the President picks. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs—or, if absent, the Vice Chairman—may attend and take part in meetings as the Council’s top military adviser and must follow the President’s direction.
Full Legal Text
Title 6, §493
Domestic Security, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Members
The members of the Council shall be the following:
(1)The President.
(2)The Vice President.
(3)The Secretary of Homeland Security.
(4)The Attorney General.
(5)The Secretary of Defense.
(6)Such other individuals as may be designated by the President.
(b)Attendance of Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff at meetings
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (or, in the absence of the Chairman, the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) may, in the role of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as principal military adviser to the Council and subject to the direction of the President, attend and participate in meetings of the Council.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2006—Pub. L. 109–163 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), inserted heading, and added subsec. (b).
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
6 U.S.C. § 493
Title 6, Domestic Security
Last Updated
Sep 22, 2026
Release point: 119-110