President Barak Obama last week merged Homeland Security Council staff with that of the National Security Council; opening the door for what his administration hopes will be swifter and savvier policy decisions on security matters. Two new directorates were formed along with the merger, one of which will emphasize disaster resilience and another that focuses on cybersecurity.

The administration has been mulling the merger since February, when it issued Presidential Security Directive 1 to examine the effectiveness of homeland security and counterterrorism efforts. There has been debate about whether the mission of the Homeland Security Council—created by the Bush Administration after the events of Sept. 11, 2001—overlapped with that of the National Security Council, muddying security policy. Another criticism was that the Homeland Security Council never met one of its primary objectives—giving state and local governments a voice in matters of security.

The merger will quell both concerns by maintaining the Homeland Security Council as the go-to agency for terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, natural disasters and pandemics, enhancing state and local government access to the White House, according to a Washington Post article.

"The idea that somehow counterterrorism is a homeland security issue doesn't make sense when you recognize the fact that terror around the world doesn't recognize borders," National Security Advisor James L. Jones told reporters in a briefing. "There is no right-hand, left-hand anymore. There's a single vector."

Jones will remain in charge of the reorganized National Security Council. John Brennan, Obama’s assistant security advisor who co-chaired the security review with Jones, will serve as a deputy and retain direct presidential access, according to the Post.