The Interim National Security Strategic Guidance

On March 3, 2021, the White House released an Interim National Security Strategic Guidance (INSSG). This is the first time an administration has issued interim guidance; previous administrations refrained from issuing formal guidance that articulated strategic intent until producing the congressionally mandated National Security Strategy (NSS) (originating in the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 P.L. 99-433, section 603/50 U.S.C section 3043). The full NSS is likely to be released later in 2021 or early 2022. The INSSG states the Biden Administrations conceptual approach to national security matters as well as signaling its key priorities, particularly as executive branch departments and agencies prepare their Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 budget submissions. With respect to the latter, FY2022 will be the first budget prepared after the expiration of the budget caps required under the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011. Details regarding how the Administrations conceptual approach will be implemented across different regions and functional issues are likely to be expressed in the full NSS.