The Senate defense bill likely will include a provision to cap the size of the National Security Council similar to that proposed by Rep. Mac Thornberry in the House, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services committee said on Monday.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told the Washington Examiner that his markup of the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act likely will seek to shrink the president’s national security advisory staff, which critics say micromanages the military.
“We obviously haven’t completed the Senate version, but we work very closely with Congressman Thornberry,” McCain said. “It’s very likely we’ll be proposing something similar.”
A House Armed Services Committee staffer said last week that Thornberry plans to introduce an amendment that would cap the size of the National Security Council “well below the current 400.” If the council grew larger than the proposed size, it would lose its advisory status under the law and be subject to congressional oversight.
The House is scheduled to mark up its draft of the fiscal 2017 defense policy bill on Wednesday. The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold its own closed markup in early May.
