President Harry S. Truman signed the National Security Act into law on the 26th of July 1947. This legislation created a new body to coordinate military and foreign policy during the early Cold War.
Secretary of State George Marshall attended the first meeting of the United States National Security Council alongside other cabinet members shortly after the bill became law in 1947. The goal was to prevent fragmented decision-making that could lead to strategic errors.
John Bolton restructured the council in May 2018 when he became national security advisor by eliminating the Directorate of Global Health Security and Biodefense. His administration argued financial savings justified cutting the team which had an estimated size of 430 people.
The Directorate of Global Health Security and Biodefense formed in 2016 under Barack Obama and emerged as a direct response to the Ebola outbreak of 2014. It remained active until it was disbanded in May 2018 by John Bolton.
Reuters reported that Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen, was placed on such a list and killed accordingly. These names appear on what is known as a kill list with no public record existing for these decisions or any subsequent operations.