Designated survivor

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 in a catastrophic or mass-casualty event. The person is chosen to stay at an undisclosed secure location, away from events such as State of the Union addresses and presidential inaugurations. The designation of a survivor is intended to prevent the decapitation 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, 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.

The location of the designated survivor is kept confidential, but the designated survivor is not guaranteed to 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 also was absent from the address, for a conference in London; had a calamity occurred, Clinton, not Donovan, would have become acting president, because her office was higher in the line of succession.

Congress also designates members of the Senate and House (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, a speechwriter for President Barack Obama, 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, 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 DateOccasionDesigneePositionNotesJanuary 25, 1984State of the UnionSamuel PierceSecretary of Housing and Urban Development1984: UPI, "Washington Dateline." January 25, 1984January 21, 1985Presidential InaugurationMargaret HecklerSecretary of Health and Human ServicesFebruary 6, 1985State of the UnionMalcolm BaldrigeSecretary of Commerce1985: UPI, "Washington News." February 6, 1985February 4, 1986State of the UnionJohn BlockSecretary of Agriculture1986: UPI, "Washington News." February 4, 1986January 27, 1987State of the UnionRichard Lyng1987: UPI, "Washington News." January 28, 1987January 25, 1988State of the UnionDonald HodelSecretary of the InteriorFebruary 9, 1989Presidential Address to Joint Session of CongressLauro CavazosSecretary of EducationJanuary 31, 1990State of the UnionEdward J. DerwinskiSecretary of Veterans Affairs1990: Washington Post, Page C3. January 31, 1991January 29, 1991State of the UnionManuel LujanSecretary of the Interior1991: Washington Post, Page C3. January 31, 1991January 28, 1992State of the UnionEd MadiganSecretary of AgricultureFebruary 17, 1993Presidential Address to Joint Session of CongressBruce BabbittSecretary of the InteriorJanuary 25, 1994State of the UnionMike EspySecretary of AgricultureJanuary 24, 1995State of the UnionFederico PeñaSecretary of TransportationJanuary 23, 1996State of the UnionDonna ShalalaSecretary of Health and Human Services1996: USA Today, Page A12. February 5, 1997February 4, 1997State of the UnionDan GlickmanSecretary of Agriculture1997: Washington Post, "Agriculture's Glickman Draws Doomsday Duty for Address." Page A13. February 4, 1997January 27, 1998State of the UnionWilliam DaleySecretary of CommerceJanuary 19, 1999State of the UnionAndrew CuomoSecretary of Housing and Urban DevelopmentJanuary 27, 2000State of the UnionBill RichardsonSecretary of Energy2000: The Washington Post, "The Reliable Source." Page C3. January 28, 2000February 27, 2001Presidential Address to Joint Session of CongressAnthony PrincipiSecretary of Veterans AffairsSeptember 20, 2001Presidential Address to Joint Session of Congress (following the September 11 attacks)Dick CheneyVice President2001: The New York Times, "Cabinet's 'Designated Absentee' Stays Away." Page A23. January 30, 2002Tommy ThompsonSecretary of Health and Human ServicesJanuary 29, 2002State of the UnionGale NortonSecretary of the InteriorJanuary 28, 2003State of the UnionJohn AshcroftAttorney GeneralNorman MinetaSecretary of TransportationJanuary 20, 2004State of the UnionDonald EvansSecretary of Commerce2004: AP, "Four to Miss Speech Due to Security." January 20, 2004January 20, 2005Presidential InaugurationGale NortonSecretary of the InteriorFebruary 2, 2005State of the UnionTed StevensPresident pro tempore of the SenateDonald EvansSecretary of CommerceJanuary 31, 2006State of the UnionTed StevensPresident pro tempore of the Senate2006: The Philadelphia Inquirer, "A Message of Energy, Strength." February 1, 2006.Jim NicholsonSecretary of Veterans AffairsJanuary 23, 2007State of the UnionAlberto GonzalesAttorney General2007: The Washington Post, "The Reliable Source." Page C3. January 25, 2007.January 28, 2008State of the UnionDirk KempthorneSecretary of the InteriorJanuary 20, 2009Presidential InaugurationRobert GatesSecretary of DefenseFebruary 24, 2009Presidential Address to Joint Session of CongressEric HolderAttorney GeneralSeptember 9, 2009Presidential Address to Joint Session of Congress (Health Care Speech to Congress)Steven ChuSecretary of EnergyJanuary 27, 2010State of the UnionHillary ClintonSecretary of State2006: CNN, "Secretary Clinton misses State of the Union speech." January 27, 2010.Shaun DonovanSecretary of Housing and Urban DevelopmentJanuary 25, 2011State of the UnionKen SalazarSecretary of the InteriorJanuary 24, 2012State of the UnionTom VilsackSecretary of AgricultureJanuary 21, 2013Presidential InaugurationEric ShinsekiSecretary of Veterans AffairsFebruary 12, 2013State of the UnionSteven ChuSecretary of EnergyJanuary 28, 2014State of the UnionErnest MonizJanuary 20, 2015State of the UnionAnthony FoxxSecretary of TransportationJanuary 12, 2016State of the UnionOrrin HatchPresident pro tempore of the SenateJeh JohnsonSecretary of Homeland SecurityJanuary 20, 2017Presidential InaugurationOrrin HatchPresident pro tempore of the SenateJeh JohnsonSecretary of Homeland SecurityFebruary 28, 2017Presidential Address to Joint Session of CongressDavid ShulkinSecretary of Veterans AffairsJanuary 30, 2018State of the UnionSonny PerdueSecretary of AgricultureFebruary 5, 2019State of the UnionRick PerrySecretary of EnergyFebruary 4, 2020State of the UnionDavid BernhardtSecretary of the InteriorJanuary 20, 2021Presidential InaugurationUndisclosedApril 28, 2021Presidential Address to Joint Session of CongressNoneMarch 1, 2022State of the UnionGina RaimondoSecretary of CommerceFebruary 7, 2023State of the UnionMarty WalshSecretary of LaborMarch 7, 2024State of the UnionMiguel CardonaSecretary of EducationJanuary 20, 2025Presidential InaugurationNoneMarch 4, 2025Presidential Address to Joint Session of CongressDoug CollinsSecretary of Veterans AffairsFebruary 24, 2026State of the UnionDoug CollinsSecretary of Veterans Affairs

Designated survivor

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