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.

A revelatory history written with riveting DC insider detail, White House Warriors traces the path that has led us to an era of American aggression abroad, debilitating fights within the government, and whispers about a deep state conspiring against the public.

“A must-read for anyone interested in how Washington really works” (Ivo H. Daalder), White House Warriors finally reveals how the NSC evolved from a handful of administrative clerks to, as one recent commander-in-chief called them, the president’s “personal band of warriors.”

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).

Gans earned his MA (2009) and PhD (2014) from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He defended with honors his dissertation on White House strategic decision-making during war. Gans received his undergraduate degree from Northwestern University (2000).