Council of Governors

The Council of Governors is a United States council of state and federal officials that was established to "advise the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the White House Homeland Security Council on matters related to the National Guard and civil support missions" and to "strengthen further the partnership between the Federal Government and State Governments to protect [the United States] against all types of hazards". The Council is tasked to review "such matters as involving the National Guard of the various States; homeland defense; civil support; synchronization and integration of State and Federal military activities in the United States; and other matters of mutual interest pertaining to National Guard, homeland defense, and civil support activities."

The Council was authorized prior to 2008 and required by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, enacted by the 110th Congress and signed by President George W. Bush on January 28, 2008. It was officially established by , issued by President Barack Obama on January 11, 2010.

Composition

The Council of Governors is composed of 10 members, selected by the President for a term of 2 years from among the governors of the several states and territories of the United States and the Mayor of the District of Columbia. No more than five members may be from the same political party.

Two members of the Council, of different political parties, are designated by the President to serve as Co-Chairs of the Council.

The work of the Council is coordinated by an Executive Director designated by the Secretary of Defense.

Members

Member Party Tenure begun State FEMA region Notes References Josh SteinDemocratic February 19, 2025North CarolinaIVCo-Chair Henry McMasterRepublican February 19, 2025South CarolinaIVCo-Chair Ron DeSantisRepublican February 19, 2025FloridaIV Kathy HochulDemocratic February 19, 2025New YorkII Brian KempRepublican February 19, 2025GeorgiaIV Jeff LandryRepublican February 19, 2025LouisianaVI Wes MooreDemocratic February 19, 2025MarylandIII Josh ShapiroDemocratic February 19, 2025PennsylvaniaIII Gretchen WhitmerDemocratic July 8, 2021MichiganVReappointed February 19, 2025 Jim PillenRepublican February 20, 2026Nebraskahttps://governor.nebraska.gov/governor-jim-pillen-appointed-council-governors

Former members

Member Party Tenure begun Tenure ended State FEMA region Notes References Mike DeWineRepublican February 22, 2019 February 19, 2025OhioVCo-Chair Reappointed July 8, 2021 Tim WalzDemocratic-Farmer-Labor February 22, 2019 February 19, 2025MinnesotaVCo-Chair Reappointed July 8, 2021 Bill Lee Republican August 14, 2020 February 19, 2025TennesseeIV John Bel EdwardsDemocratic July 8, 2021 February 19, 2025LouisianaVIPreviously served on Council from 2017 to 2019 John CarneyDemocratic July 8, 2021 February 19, 2025DelawareIII Kate BrownDemocratic July 8, 2021 February 19, 2025OregonX Spencer Cox Republican July 8, 2021 February 19, 2025UtahVIII Phil Scott Republican July 8, 2021 February 19, 2025VermontI Mark Gordon Republican July 8, 2021 February 19, 2025WyomingVIII Jim Douglas Republican February 4, 2010 January 6, 2011 Vermont I Co-Chair Jay Nixon Democratic February 4, 2010 January 9, 2017 Missouri VII Terry Branstad Republican March 9, 2011 May 24, 2017 Iowa VII Co-Chair Mike Rounds Republican February 4, 2010 January 8, 2011 South Dakota VIII Brad Henry Democratic February 4, 2010 January 10, 2011 Oklahoma VI Luis Fortuño NPP/Republican February 4, 2010 January 2, 2013 Puerto Rico II Bev Perdue Democratic February 4, 2010 January 5, 2013 North Carolina IV Christine GregoireDemocratic February 4, 2010 January 16, 2013 Washington X Co-Chair Neil Abercrombie Democratic March 9, 2011 December 1, 2014 Hawaii IX Jan Brewer Republican February 4, 2010 January 5, 2015 Arizona IX Pat Quinn Democratic February 21, 2013 January 12, 2015 Illinois V Martin O'Malley Democratic February 4, 2010 January 21, 2015 Maryland III Co-Chair Matt Mead Republican March 9, 2011 May 1, 2017 Wyoming VIII Brian Sandoval Republican February 21, 2013 May 1, 2017 Nevada IX Terry McAuliffe Democratic February 24, 2015 May 1, 2017 Virginia III Rick Snyder Republican February 24, 2015 May 1, 2017 Michigan V Eric Greitens Republican May 1, 2017 June 1, 2018 Missouri VII Bill Walker Independent May 1, 2017 December 3, 2018 Alaska X Mark DaytonDemocratic-Farmer-Labor February 24, 2015 January 7, 2019 Minnesota V Rick Scott Republican May 1, 2017 January 8, 2019 Florida IV Dannel Malloy Democratic February 4, 2010 January 9, 2019 Connecticut I Co-Chair Steve Bullock Democratic February 24, 2015 January 4, 2021 Montana VIII Mary Fallin Republican May 1, 2017 January 14, 2019 Oklahoma VI Co-Chair www.whitehouse.gov Bill Haslam Republican 2014 January 19, 2019 Tennessee IV Charlie BakerRepublican 2016 February 22, 2019MassachusettsI Doug DuceyRepublican February 22, 2019 July 7, 2021ArizonaIX Asa Hutchinson Republican July 12, 2018 July 7, 2021 Arkansas VI President Donald J. Trump Announces His Intent to Nominate and Appoint Personnel to Key Administration Posts; July 12, 2018 David IgeDemocratic February 22, 2019 July 7, 2021HawaiiIX Ned LamontDemocratic February 22, 2019 July 7, 2021ConnecticutI Mike ParsonRepublican February 22, 2019 July 7, 2021MissouriVII JB PritzkerDemocratic February 22, 2019 July 7, 2021IllinoisV Pete RickettsRepublican February 22, 2019 July 7, 2021NebraskaVII Glenn YoungkinRepublican February 19, 2025 January 17, 2026VirginiaIIICo-Chair

Federal officials

Position Member USNORTHCOM Commander General Terrence J. O'Shaughnessy Commandant of the United States Coast Guard Admiral Karl L. Schultz Chief of the National Guard Bureau General Joseph L. Lengyel

Scope of activities Topics for review by the Council of Governors include synchronization and integration of state and federal military activities and other matters related to state National Guard organizations, homeland defense, and civil support.

Meetings Meetings of the Council are called by the Secretary of Defense or the Co-Chairs.

The inaugural meeting was held on February 23, 2010, in Washington, D.C., at the Pentagon. A second meeting was held July 11, 2010 in Boston, Massachusetts. A third meeting was scheduled for November 2010.http://www.nga.org/cms/home/news-room/news-releases/page_2011/col2-content/main-content-list/general-content-1.html

References

External links FEMA Regions