Since its founding more than seventy years ago, the National Security Council has exerted more influence on the president’s foreign policy decisions―and on the nation’s conflicts abroad―than any other institution or individual. And yet, until the Trump presidency, few Americans could even name a member. D.C. insider John Gans traces the path that has led us to an era of American aggression abroad in his book _White House Warriors_. From debilitating fights within the government, and whispers about a deep state conspiring against the public, learn in this "Chat and Chowder" conversation how the National Security Council changed the American way of war. Image: Book Cover
**John Gans,** PhD. is the Director of Communications and Research at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perry World House global policy center. In addition, Gans teaches graduate and undergraduate classes on the international order, the politics and process of American foreign policy, and national security. He is also a fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Until 2017, Gans served at the Pentagon as chief speechwriter to Secretary of Defense Ash Carter. He was the principal adviser to the secretary on planning, positioning, and preparation of remarks, managed a team of writers, and drafted dozens of speeches delivered around the world on defense policy in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, Russia, the Middle East, and around the world. In addition to leading the writing team at the Defense Department, Gans served in the Obama Administration as senior speechwriter for Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel (2014) and Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew (2015).