In the United States, a designated survivor (or designated successor) is a person in the presidential line of succession who is kept distant from others in the line when they are gathered together, to reduce the chance that everyone in the line will be unable to take over the

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

in a catastrophic or mass-casualty event. The person is chosen to stay at an undisclosed secure location, away from such events such as

State of the Union The State of the Union Address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a Joint session of the United States Congress, joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning ...

addresses and presidential inaugurations. The designation of a survivor is intended to prevent the

decapitation Decapitation is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and all vertebrate animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood by way of severing through the jugular vein and common c ...

of the government and to safeguard continuity in the presidency if the president, the vice president, and others in the presidential line of succession die. The procedure began in the 1950s, during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, with the idea that a nuclear attack could kill government officials and the U.S. government would collapse. In such an event, the surviving official highest in the line of succession in the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, who might be the designated survivor, would become acting president of the United States. The designated survivor must be eligible to serve as president. The designated survivor usually is a member of the president's Cabinet and is chosen by the president. Being the designated survivor does not guarantee that this official will be the person to assume the presidency in such a situation. For the 2010 State of the Union address, Shaun Donovan, the secretary of housing and urban development, was the designated survivor, but Secretary of State

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

also was absent from the address, for a conference in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

; had a calamity occurred, Clinton, not Donovan, would have become acting president, because her office was higher in the line of succession.

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

also designates members of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

(one from each party) to become congressional "designated survivors" to maintain the existence of Congress in a mass-casualty event.

Selection

In a 2016 interview,

Jon Favreau Jonathan Kolia Favreau ( ; born October 19, 1966) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as ''Rudy (film), Rudy'' (1993), ''PCU (film), PCU'' (1994), ''Swingers (1996 film), Swingers'' (1996), ''Very ...

, a speechwriter for President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

, said that the procedure for picking a designated survivor for a State of the Union address was "entirely random", but later clarified that the content of the speech played a role in who was permitted to be absent. Favreau said that for a State of the Union address in which Obama's education policy was a major focus, for example, the

secretary of education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

, Arne Duncan, was not chosen as the designated survivor, because it was thought that he should attend and represent his department.

List of designated survivors

Notes

References

External links

U.S. Senate's list of cabinet members who did not attend the State of the Union Address (since 1984)

Cabinet Members Who Did Not Attend the State of the Union Address Reagan (1984) – Trump
The American Presidency Project nline Gerhard Peters (database). Santa Barbara, California: University of California (hosted). {{DEFAULTSORT:Designated Survivor United States presidential succession Disaster preparedness in the United States Continuity of government in the United States 1950s introductions

Selection

List of designated survivors

See also

Notes

References

External links