Designated survivor

In the United States, a designated survivor (or designated successor) is an individual in the presidential line of succession, usually a member of the United States Cabinet, who is arranged to be at a physically distant, secure, and undisclosed location when the President, the Vice President, and the other officials in the line of succession are gathered at a single location, such as during State of the Union addresses and presidential inaugurations. This is intended to guarantee continuity of government in the event of a catastrophic occurrence that kills the President and many officials in the presidential line of succession, such as a mass shooting, bombing, attack or catastrophic natural disaster. If such an event occurred, killing both the President and Vice President, the surviving official highest in the line, possibly the designated survivor, would become the Acting President of the United States under the Presidential Succession Act.[1]

Only Cabinet members who are eligible to succeed to the presidency (i.e., natural-born citizens over the age of 35, who have resided in the United States for at least 14 years) can be chosen as designated survivors. The designated survivor is provided presidential-level security and transport for the duration of the event. An aide carries a nuclear football with them. However, they are not given a briefing on what to do in the event that the other successors to the presidency are killed.[2]

History

Presidential

The practice of naming a designated survivor originated during the Cold War with its risk of nuclear attack. In 1947, the Presidential Succession Act established the line of succession and led to the continuity of government plan. In one special case the Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan was designated survivor for the 2010 State of the Union Address given by Barack Obama. At the same time Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was also absent from the address. However, Secret Service rules prevented Clinton from being named the designated survivor since it was public knowledge that she was at a conference in London during the event.[3] Had a calamity occurred only in Washington and Clinton remained unharmed, she instead of Donovan would have become Acting President, as the Secretary of State is higher in the line of succession than the Housing and Urban Development Secretary.[4]

Legislative

Since 2005, members of Congress have also been chosen as legislative designated survivors.

In addition to serving as a rump legislature in the event that all of their colleagues were killed, a surviving Representative and Senator could ascend to the (vacated) offices of Speaker of the House and President Pro Tempore of the Senate, offices that immediately follow the Vice President in the presidential line of succession. However, it is unclear whether a legislative designated survivor not already holding that house's leadership position could assume such a position without previously having been elected to it by a quorum of their respective house.

If such a legislative designated survivor were simultaneously the sitting Speaker or President Pro Tempore – as was the case during the 2005, 2006, and 2007 State of the Union addresses, in which Presidents Pro Tempore Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and Sen. Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia) were also legislative designated survivors – he or she would become the acting president in the event of the additional deaths of both the president and the vice-president, rather than the presidential designated survivor Cabinet member.

List of some designated survivors

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
DateOccasionDesigneePositionNotes
January 20, 1981Presidential InaugurationUnknown
February 18, 1981Presidential Address to Joint Session of Congress[5]Terrel BellSecretary of Education[6]
January 26, 1982State of the UnionUnknown
January 25, 1983State of the UnionJ. Steward Donovan
January 25, 1984State of the UnionSamuel PierceSecretary of Housing and Urban Development[4][7][8][9]
January 21, 1985Presidential InaugurationMargaret HecklerSecretary of Health and Human Services[10]
February 6, 1985State of the UnionMalcolm BaldrigeSecretary of Commerce[4][7][9][11]
February 4, 1986State of the UnionJohn BlockSecretary of Agriculture[4][7][9][12]
January 27, 1987State of the UnionRichard LyngSecretary of Agriculture[4][7][9][13]
January 25, 1988State of the UnionDonald HodelSecretary of the Interior[4][6][7][9]
January 20, 1989Presidential InaugurationUnknown
February 9, 1989Presidential Address to Joint Session of Congress[5]Lauro CavazosSecretary of Education
January 31, 1990State of the UnionEdward J. DerwinskiSecretary of Veterans Affairs[4][7][9][14]
September 11, 1990Presidential Address to Joint Session of Congress
(Gulf War Speech—text)		Unknown
January 29, 1991State of the UnionManuel LujanSecretary of the Interior[4][7][9][15]
January 28, 1992State of the UnionEd MadiganSecretary of Agriculture[4][7][9]
January 20, 1993Presidential InaugurationUnknown
February 17, 1993Presidential Address to Joint Session of Congress[5]Bruce BabbittSecretary of the Interior[4][7][9]
January 25, 1994State of the UnionMike EspySecretary of Agriculture[4][7][9]
January 24, 1995State of the UnionFederico PeñaSecretary of Transportation[4][7][9]
January 23, 1996State of the UnionDonna ShalalaSecretary of Health and Human Services[4][7][9][16]
January 20, 1997Presidential InaugurationUnknown
February 4, 1997State of the UnionDan GlickmanSecretary of Agriculture[4][7][9][17]
January 27, 1998State of the UnionWilliam DaleySecretary of Commerce[4][7][9]
January 19, 1999State of the UnionAndrew CuomoSecretary of Housing and Urban Development[4][7][9][18]
January 27, 2000State of the UnionBill RichardsonSecretary of Energy[4][7][9][19]
January 20, 2001Presidential InaugurationUnknown
February 27, 2001Presidential Address to Joint Session of Congress[5]Anthony PrincipiSecretary of Veterans Affairs[4][7][9]
September 20, 2001Presidential Address to Joint Session of Congress
(following the September 11 attacks)		Dick CheneyVice President[4][20]
Tommy ThompsonSecretary of Health and Human Services
January 29, 2002State of the UnionGale NortonSecretary of the Interior[7][9][21]
January 28, 2003State of the UnionJohn AshcroftAttorney General[4][7][9][22]
Norman MinetaSecretary of Transportation
January 20, 2004State of the UnionDonald EvansSecretary of Commerce[4][7][9][23]
January 20, 2005Presidential InaugurationGale NortonSecretary of the Interior
February 2, 2005State of the UnionDonald EvansSecretary of Commerce[4][7][9][24][25]
Ted Stevens (R-AK)President Pro Tempore of the Senate
January 31, 2006State of the UnionJim NicholsonSecretary of Veterans Affairs[4][7][9][24][26]
Ted Stevens (R-AK)President Pro Tempore of the Senate
January 23, 2007State of the UnionAlberto GonzalesAttorney General[4][7][9][24][27]
January 28, 2008State of the UnionDirk KempthorneSecretary of the Interior[4][7][9][28]
January 20, 2009Presidential InaugurationRobert GatesSecretary of Defense[29][30]
February 24, 2009Presidential Address to Joint Session of Congress[5]Eric HolderAttorney General[4][7][9][31]
September 9, 2009Presidential Address to Joint Session of Congress
(Health Care Speech to Congress)		Steven ChuSecretary of Energy[32]
January 27, 2010State of the UnionShaun DonovanSecretary of Housing and Urban Development[7][9]
January 25, 2011State of the UnionKen SalazarSecretary of the Interior[7][9][33]
January 24, 2012State of the UnionTom VilsackSecretary of Agriculture[7][9][34]
January 21, 2013Presidential InaugurationEric ShinsekiSecretary of Veterans Affairs[35]
February 12, 2013State of the UnionSteven ChuSecretary of Energy[9]
January 28, 2014State of the UnionErnest MonizSecretary of Energy[36][37]
January 20, 2015State of the UnionAnthony FoxxSecretary of Transportation[38][39]
January 12, 2016State of the UnionOrrin Hatch (R-UT)President Pro Tempore of the Senate[40]
Jeh JohnsonSecretary of Homeland Security[41]
January 20, 2017Presidential InaugurationOrrin Hatch (R-UT)President Pro Tempore of the Senate[42]
Jeh JohnsonSecretary of Homeland Security[43]
February 28, 2017Presidential Address to Joint Session of Congress[5]David ShulkinSecretary of Veterans Affairs[44][45][46]
January 30, 2018 State of the Union Sonny Perdue Secretary of Agriculture [47]

See also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Vacancy in offices of both President and Vice President; officers eligible to act: 3 U.S.C. § 19
  2. ↑ Knoller, Mark (January 30, 2007). "One Night Spent A Heartbeat Away". CBS News.
  3. ↑ Kamen, Al. "Hillary Clinton will be in London for State of the Union". Washington Post. Accessed 3 February 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 "Cabinet Members Who Did Not Attend the State of the Union Address". www.presidency.ucsb.edu.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 1981, 1989, 1993, 2001, 2009 and 2017 speeches were given by incoming Presidents and not formal "State of the Union" addresses.
  6. 1 2 Hershey, Jr., Robert D. (27 January 1988). "State of Union: Bewitched by Pageant". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 "Cabinet members who did not attend the State of the Union Address (since 1984)" (PDF). United States Senate Historical Office.
  8. ↑ 1984: UPI, "Washington Dateline." Jan 25, 1984
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Rachel Weiner (February 12, 2013). "Steven Chu is the State of the Union 'designated survivor'". The Washington Post.
  10. ↑ "Gainesville Sun - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  11. ↑ 1985: UPI, "Washington News." Feb 6, 1985
  12. ↑ 1986: UPI, "Washington News." Feb 4, 1986
  13. ↑ 1987: UPI, "Washington News." Jan 28, 1987
  14. ↑ 1990: Washington Post, Page C3. Jan 31, 1991
  15. ↑ 1991: Washington Post, Page C3. Jan 31, 1991
  16. ↑ 1996: USA Today, Page A12. Feb 5, 1997
  17. ↑ 1997: Washington Post, "Agriculture's Glickman Draws Doomsday Duty for Address." Page A13. Feb 4, 1997
  18. ↑ 1999: New York Times, "Not Being Invited Was the Honor." Page B2. Jan 21, 1999
  19. ↑ 2000: Washington Post, "The Reliable Source." Page C3. Jan 28, 2000
  20. ↑ 2001: New York Times, "Cabinet's 'Designated Absentee' Stays Away." Page A23. Jan 30, 2002
  21. ↑ 2002: New York Times, "Cabinet's 'Designated Absentee' Stays Away." Page A23. Jan 30, 2002
  22. ↑ 2003: New York Times, "Ashcroft in Secret Spot During Bush Address." Jan 29, 2003
  23. ↑ 2004: AP, "Four to Miss Speech Due to Security." Jan 20, 2004
  24. 1 2 3 For the 2005, 2006, and 2007 State of the Union addresses, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate would have been the highest-ranking survivor.
  25. ↑ 2005: New York Times, "Five Officials Skip State of the Union Address." Feb 2, 2005
  26. ↑ 2006: Philadelphia Inquirer, "A Message of Energy, Strength." Feb 1, 2006.
  27. ↑ 2007: Washington Post, "The Reliable Source." Page C3. Jan 25, 2007.
  28. ↑ 2008: AP, "Interior Secretary Skips Speech," Jan 28, 2008
  29. ↑ 2009: AFP American Edition, "Gates to Sit out Obama Inauguration," January 19, 2009
  30. ↑ Gates To Be Designated Successor On Inauguration Day, CBS News, January 19, 2009.
  31. ↑ Holder Staying Away From Obama's Speech, The Washington Post, February 24, 2009.
  32. ↑ "Energy secretary skips Obama health care address".
  33. ↑ O'Keefe, Ed (25 January 2011). "State of the Union: Ken Salazar to serve as 'designated survivor'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  34. ↑ Associated Press (24 January 2012). "State of the Union: Tom Vilsack to serve as Cabinet's 'designated survivor". The Washington Post. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  35. ↑ "Shinseki absent from inaugural". Miami Herald. 22 January 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  36. ↑ "Energy Secretary to be Designated Survivor during State of the Union". FOX News. January 28, 2014.
  37. ↑ Miller, Zeke J (28 January 2014). "This Man Will Be Your President If The Worst Happens Happens". Time. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  38. ↑ "Obama's 'designated survivor:' Anthony Foxx". USA Today. January 20, 2015.
  39. ↑ Jackson, David (20 January 2015). "O". NationalJournal. Archived from the original on 21 January 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  40. ↑ Shalby, Colleen (12 January 2016). "If #SOTU disaster strikes, Jeh Johnson ... or a Republican would become president". LA Times. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  41. ↑ Saenz, Arlette (January 12, 2016). "State of the Union: Jeh Johnson Named Designated Survivor". ABC News.
  42. ↑ Tribune, The Salt Lake. "Sen. Orrin Hatch acting as a designated survivor during inauguration". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  43. ↑ Weaver, Dustin (20 January 2017). "Jeh Johnson is designated survivor for inauguration". TheHill. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  44. ↑ DeBonis, Mike; Johnson, Jenna (2017-01-24). "Trump to address a joint session of Congress on Feb. 28". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-04-03.
  45. ↑ "Philip Rucker on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  46. ↑ "VA Secretary David Shulkin chosen as designated survivor". ABC News.
  47. ↑ Westwood, Sarah. "Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue State of the Union 'designated survivor'". Washington Examiner. Retrieved 2018-01-30.
  48. ↑ "Designated Survivor (TV Series 2016-)". IMDb. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
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