Marco Rubio working on major changes to National Security Council

Under the plan, the NSC would shrink, and would shift from making recommendations to President Donald Trump to carrying out his orders.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in his new add-on role of national security adviser, is expected to significantly scale down the size of the National Security Council and make a drastic change to how it works, four people with direct knowledge of the plans told NBC News.

Shrinking the staff at the NSC would be in part designed to more closely align how it operates with the way President Donald Trump makes decisions, these people said. Rather than a large staff generating policy recommendations for the president, the idea is to create a version along the lines Trump prefers — more top-down, with the president directing the national security adviser who then leads the staff to carry out those orders, two of the people said.

The NSC, which is run out of the White House, is the core hub for coordinating a policy process across government agencies to help the president make decisions on foreign policy and national security matters. The size of its staff, which can be as many as several hundred, has changed under different presidents.  

When Trump took office the NSC had 300 staffers, which was cut in half in January to about 150. The expected cuts could whittle the staff down to 50-60, but a final decision has not been made, said three of the people with direct knowledge of plans. Rubio does not plan to fire any staff but is expected to reassign them to other agencies, a senior administration official with direct knowledge of Rubio’s decision making said. 

“Secretary Rubio is doing an incredible job serving as both Secretary of State and White House National Security Advisor,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to NBC News. “Under his leadership at the White House, the NSC team will be streamlined to ensure maximum efficiency and coordination with outside agencies.”