A designated survivor is a member of the United States Cabinet who stays at a physically distant, secure, and undisclosed location when the President and the country's other top leaders are gathered at a single location, such as during State of the Union Addresses and presidential inaugurations, in order to maintain continuity of government with regard to presidential succession in the remote possibility of a catastrophic event which could wipe out large portions of the United States' federal government. The practice originated during the Cold War amid fears of a nuclear attack. Since 2005, one Representative and one Senator of each political party have also served as designated survivors concurrently with the Cabinet member, so they could ascend to the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives or President Pro Tempore of the Senate. Although those offices are first and second in the line of succession to the Presidency, respectively, after the Vice President, it is unclear whether either of these designated survivors could do so without first being elected to those leadership positions by a quorum of their respective houses.
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List of some designated survivors
- 1981 State of the Union: Terrell Bell, Secretary of Education
- 1982 State of the Union: Unknown
- 1983 State of the Union: Unknown
- 1984 State of the Union: Samuel Pierce, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
- 1985 State of the Union: Malcolm Baldrige, Secretary of Commerce
- 1986 State of the Union: John Block, Secretary of Agriculture
- 1987 State of the Union: Richard Lyng, Secretary of Agriculture
- 1988 State of the Union: Donald Hodel, Secretary of the Interior
- 1989 State of the Union*: Lauro Cavazos, Secretary of Education
- 1990 State of the Union: Edward J. Derwinski, Secretary of Veterans Affairs
- 1991 State of the Union: Manuel Lujan, Secretary of the Interior
- 1991 Presidential Address before Joint Session of Congress (Gulf War Speech): Unknown
- 1992 State of the Union: Ed Madigan, Secretary of Agriculture
- 1993 State of the Union*: Bruce Babbitt, Secretary of the Interior
- 1994 State of the Union: Mike Espy, Secretary of Agriculture
- 1995 State of the Union: Federico Pena, Secretary of Transportation
- 1996 State of the Union: Donna Shalala, Secretary of Health and Human Services
- 1997 State of the Union: Dan Glickman, Secretary of Agriculture
- 1998 State of the Union: William Daley, Secretary of Commerce
- 1999 State of the Union: Andrew Cuomo, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
- 2000 State of the Union: Bill Richardson, Secretary of Energy
- 2001 State of the Union*: Anthony Principi, Secretary of Veterans Affairs
- 2001 Presidential Address before Joint Session of Congress (9/11 attack): Dick Cheney, Vice President
Tommy Thompson, Secretary of Health and Human Services - 2002 State of the Union: Gale Norton, Secretary of the Interior
- 2003 State of the Union: John Ashcroft, Attorney General
- 2004 State of the Union: Donald Evans, Secretary of Commerce
- 2005 Presidential Inauguration: Gale Norton, Secretary of the Interior
- 2005 State of the Union: Donald Evans**, Secretary of Commerce
Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), President Pro Tempore of the Senate
Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND), Ranking Democrat, Senate Budget Committee
Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA), House Republican Conference Secretary
Rep. George Miller (D-CA), Ranking Democrat, House Education and the Workforce Committee - 2006 State of the Union: Jim Nicholson**, Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), President Pro Tempore of the Senate
Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA)
Rep. George Miller (D-CA) - 2007 State of the Union: Alberto Gonzales**, Attorney General
Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV), President Pro Tempore of the Senate
*1989, 1993 and 2001 speeches were given by incoming Presidents and not formal "State of the Union" addresses **For the 2005, 2006, and 2007 State of the Union addresses, a designated member of the Cabinet was absent. However, in all three cases, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) or Sen. Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia), as Senate President Pro Tempore, actually preceded all cabinet members in the line of succession and was not present for the President's speech those nights. Therefore, had a catastrophic event actually occurred, Sen. Stevens or Sen. Byrd would have assumed the powers & duties of the Presidency.
Designated survivors in fiction
- The designated survivor was featured in the 12th episode of the first season of The West Wing. The designated survivor in this episode was Roger Tribbey, the Secretary of Agriculture.
See also
External links
- U.S. Senate's list of cabinet members who did not attend the State of the Union Address (since 1984)
- Amendment25.com
