What is the name of the fictional National Security Advisor?

The fictional National Security Advisor in The West Wing is Nancy McNally. Played by Anna Deavere Smith, Dr. McNally advises President Jed Bartlet on military threats, diplomacy, intelligence, and the use of force.

McNally becomes a major presence beginning around the second season, after the show’s first season had largely used Admiral Percy Fitzwallace and other officials in national-security storylines. She frequently debates Fitzwallace, Secretary of State officials, and White House Chief of Staff Leo McGarry over whether a crisis requires negotiation, covert action, or military force.

Her characterization is intentionally more nuanced than a simple hawk-or-dove label. McNally can support forceful action in one crisis and oppose it in another, depending on intelligence and likely consequences. That flexibility makes her a useful counterweight to more rigid advisers.

The character is sometimes confused with Kate Harper, who later serves as deputy national security advisor and handles many security-related storylines. McNally remains the senior fictional adviser associated with the Bartlet White House and is later suggested to become U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.