Advisory committees executive orders

What this topic covers

Federal advisory committees are groups that advise federal officials on subjects such as science, public health, national security, economic policy, and public administration. Some are created by statute; others are formed by a president or agency under existing authority. Their members may be government employees, outside experts, representatives of affected interests, or a mix. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), now codified in title 5, chapter 10, generally sets requirements for charters, public notice, open meetings, and access to committee records. These rules help readers tell a formal advisory body apart from an informal conversation or a task force made entirely of federal officials.

An executive order can create a presidential council, assign agencies to support a committee, renew a body for another period, change its membership, or call for committees to close. The operative details matter: whether the group is statutory, who appoints members, what question it must study, when it expires, and whether the order directs a report or a continuing program. Renewal orders can keep a group legally in place without proving that it met, completed its work, or changed agency policy. Conversely, termination of a discretionary committee does not repeal a committee Congress created by statute.

The Supreme Court’s decision in Public Citizen v. Department of Justice, 491 U.S. 440 (1989), is a key guide to FACA’s reach. The Court held that the Justice Department’s use of the American Bar Association’s judicial-nominations committee did not make that committee one “utilized” by the government within FACA’s meaning. The opinion did not exempt every outside group or all presidential advice; it shows that courts examine how the government actually uses a group and what Congress meant by the statute. Read the opinion in the United States Reports.

The landmark orders trace different uses of committee power. Executive Order 12838 required departments to end at least one-third of their non-statutory advisory committees by the end of fiscal year 1993 and to justify which others should remain. Executive Order 13498 renamed the White House faith-based office and created a time-limited advisory council. Later, Executive Order 13875 called for reviews of committee utility and management, while Executive Order 14048 continued or reestablished named bodies and amended earlier orders. Those choices are more consequential than routine renewals because they set government-wide expectations for committee review or alter a council’s mission.

Across the six presidents represented in the site’s broader timeline, committee policy has shifted between limiting the number of groups, using councils to coordinate priorities, and preserving or restarting selected bodies. Bill Clinton’s Executive Order 12838 emphasized downsizing and written justification. George W. Bush and Barack Obama used presidential and agency committees for cross-agency advice; Obama’s orders include the community-solutions council and the advisory council on doing business in Africa. Donald Trump’s first term combined committee reviews with new councils, including the Wildland Fire Management Policy Committee. Joe Biden’s Executive Orders 14048 and 14109 renewed or reestablished selected committees and adjusted their terms. Donald Trump’s second term began a different cycle: Executive Order 14217 directed senior White House aides to identify committees and other entities considered unnecessary.

That 2025 direction produced concrete agency notices rather than only a White House instruction. The Department of Homeland Security announced termination of several discretionary committees, including its Artificial Intelligence Safety and Security Board, and the Department of Commerce published a notice ending 14 committees after determining their purposes had been fulfilled. Both notices invoke FACA alongside the relevant departmental authority. The later Executive Order 14354 continued named committees, while the two 2026 FEMA review-council orders extended one specific council. Together these examples show why readers should check the committee’s charter, its creating authority, and the published notice rather than assume that every advisory body was treated alike. EO 14217, the DHS notice, and the Commerce notice.

For the site’s sourcing and status-label approach, see the methodology.

Landmark orders and turning points

• Executive Order 12838: Termination and Limitation of Federal Advisory Committees (1993). Required a one-third reduction in non-statutory committees and written justification for those retained.
• Executive Order 13498: President’s Advisory Council on Partnerships (2009). Changed the White House faith-based office and set up a council with a defined advisory remit.
• Executive Order 13875: Reviewing Federal Advisory Committees (2019). Made committee utility, management, and review a cross-government focus.
• Executive Order 14048: Continuing or Reestablishing Federal Advisory Committees (2021). Renewed or restored specified councils and amended the orders governing them.
• Executive Order 14217: Reviewing Federal Entities and Advisory Committees (2025). Directed a new review that led to agency-specific termination notices.