Individual in the presidential line of succession
This article is about the U.S. contingency plan to safeguard its line of presidential succession. For the 2016 TV series inspired by the plan, see
Designated Survivor (TV series).
In theUnited States , adesignated survivor (ordesignated successor ) is a person in thepresidential 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 thepresidency in acatastrophic ormass-casualty event . The person is chosen to stay at an undisclosed secure location, away from events such asState of the Union addresses andpresidential inaugurations . Thedesignation of a survivor is intended to prevent thedecapitation of the government and to safeguardcontinuity 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 theCold War , with the idea that anuclear 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 thePresidential Succession Act of 1947 , who might be the designated survivor, would becomeacting president of the United States . The designated survivor must beeligible to serve as president . The designated survivor usually is a member of the president'sCabinet 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 the2010 State of the Union address ,Shaun Donovan , thesecretary of housing and urban development , was the designated survivor, butSecretary of State Hillary Clinton also was absent from the address, for a conference inLondon ; had a calamity occurred, Clinton, not Donovan, would have become acting president, because her office was higher in the line of succession.[ 1]
Congress also designates members of theSenate andHouse (onefrom each party ) to become congressional "designated survivors" to maintain the existence of Congress in a mass-casualty event.[ 2]
In a 2016 interview,Jon Favreau , a speechwriter for PresidentBarack 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, thesecretary of education ,Arne Duncan , was not chosen as the designated survivor, because it was thought that he should attend and represent his department.[ 3]
List of designated survivors [ edit ] Date Occasion Designee Position Notes January 25, 1984 State of the Union Samuel Pierce Secretary of Housing and Urban Development [ 1] [ 4] [ 5] [ 6] January 21, 1985 Presidential Inauguration Margaret Heckler Secretary of Health and Human Services [ 7] February 6, 1985 State of the Union Malcolm Baldrige Secretary of Commerce [ 1] [ 4] [ 6] [ 8] February 4, 1986 State of the Union John Block Secretary of Agriculture [ 1] [ 4] [ 6] [ 9] January 27, 1987 State of the Union Richard Lyng [ 1] [ 4] [ 6] [ 10] January 25, 1988 State of the Union Donald Hodel Secretary of the Interior [ 1] [ 11] [ 4] [ 6] February 9, 1989 Presidential Address to Joint Session of Congress [ a] Lauro Cavazos Secretary of Education [ 12] January 31, 1990 State of the Union Edward J. Derwinski Secretary of Veterans Affairs [ 1] [ 4] [ 6] [ 13] January 29, 1991 State of the Union Manuel Lujan Secretary of the Interior [ 1] [ 4] [ 6] [ 14] January 28, 1992 State of the Union Ed Madigan Secretary of Agriculture [ 1] [ 4] [ 6] February 17, 1993 Presidential Address to Joint Session of Congress [ a] Bruce Babbitt Secretary of the Interior [ 1] [ 4] [ 6] January 25, 1994 State of the Union Mike Espy Secretary of Agriculture [ 1] [ 4] [ 6] January 24, 1995 State of the Union Federico Peña Secretary of Transportation [ 1] [ 4] [ 6] January 23, 1996 State of the Union Donna Shalala Secretary of Health and Human Services [ 1] [ 4] [ 6] [ 15] February 4, 1997 State of the Union Dan Glickman Secretary of Agriculture [ 1] [ 4] [ 6] [ 16] January 27, 1998 State of the Union William Daley Secretary of Commerce [ 1] [ 4] [ 6] January 19, 1999 State of the Union Andrew Cuomo Secretary of Housing and Urban Development [ 1] [ 4] [ 6] [ 17] January 27, 2000 State of the Union Bill Richardson Secretary of Energy [ 1] [ 4] [ 6] [ 18] February 27, 2001 Presidential Address to Joint Session of Congress [ a] Anthony Principi Secretary of Veterans Affairs [ 1] [ 4] [ 6] September 11–14, 2001 Following theSeptember 11 attacks Donald Evans Secretary of Commerce [ 1] [ 4] [ 6] September 20, 2001 Presidential Address to Joint Session of Congress (following the September 11 attacks) Dick Cheney Vice President [ 1] [ 19] Tommy Thompson Secretary of Health and Human Services January 29, 2002 State of the Union Gale Norton Secretary of the Interior [ 4] [ 6] [ 20] January 28, 2003 State of the Union John Ashcroft Attorney General [ 1] [ 4] [ 6] [ 21] Norman Mineta Secretary of Transportation January 20, 2004 State of the Union Donald Evans Secretary of Commerce [ 1] [ 4] [ 6] [ 22] January 20, 2005 Presidential Inauguration Gale Norton Secretary of the Interior [ 23] [ 24] February 2, 2005 State of the Union Ted Stevens President pro tempore of the Senate [ b] [ 1] [ 4] [ 6] [ 25] Donald Evans Secretary of Commerce January 31, 2006 State of the Union Ted Stevens President pro tempore of the Senate[ b] [ 1] [ 4] [ 6] [ 26] Jim Nicholson Secretary of Veterans Affairs January 23, 2007 State of the Union Alberto Gonzales Attorney General [ 1] [ 4] [ 6] [ 27] January 28, 2008 State of the Union Dirk Kempthorne Secretary of the Interior [ 1] [ 4] [ 6] [ 28] January 20, 2009 Presidential Inauguration Robert Gates Secretary of Defense [ 29] [ 30] February 24, 2009 Presidential Address to Joint Session of Congress [ a] Eric Holder Attorney General [ 1] [ 4] [ 6] [ 31] September 9, 2009 Presidential Address to Joint Session of Congress (Health Care Speech to Congress ) Steven Chu Secretary of Energy [ 32] January 27, 2010 State of the Union Hillary Clinton [ c] Secretary of State [ 1] [ 4] [ 6] [ 33] Shaun Donovan Secretary of Housing and Urban Development January 25, 2011 State of the Union Ken Salazar Secretary of the Interior [ 4] [ 6] [ 34] January 24, 2012 State of the Union Tom Vilsack Secretary of Agriculture [ 4] [ 6] [ 35] January 21, 2013 Presidential Inauguration Eric Shinseki Secretary of Veterans Affairs [ 36] February 12, 2013 State of the Union Steven Chu Secretary of Energy [ 6] January 28, 2014 State of the Union Ernest Moniz [ 37] [ 38] January 20, 2015 State of the Union Anthony Foxx Secretary of Transportation [ 39] [ 40] January 12, 2016 State of the Union Orrin Hatch President pro tempore of the Senate[ b] [ 41] Jeh Johnson Secretary of Homeland Security [ 42] January 20, 2017 Presidential Inauguration Orrin Hatch President pro tempore of the Senate[ b] [ 43] Jeh Johnson Secretary of Homeland Security [ 44] February 28, 2017 Presidential Address to Joint Session of Congress [ a] David Shulkin Secretary of Veterans Affairs [ 45] [ 46] January 30, 2018 State of the Union Sonny Perdue Secretary of Agriculture [ 47] February 5, 2019 State of the Union Rick Perry Secretary of Energy [ 48] February 4, 2020 State of the Union David Bernhardt Secretary of the Interior [ 49] [ 50] January 20, 2021 Presidential Inauguration Undisclosed [ d] [ 51] April 28, 2021 Presidential Address to Joint Session of Congress [ a] Undisclosed[ e] [ 52] March 1, 2022 State of the Union Gina Raimondo Secretary of Commerce [ 53] February 7, 2023 State of the Union Marty Walsh Secretary of Labor [ 54] March 7, 2024 State of the Union Miguel Cardona Secretary of Education [ 55] January 20, 2025 Presidential Inauguration Undisclosed [ 56] March 4, 2025 Presidential Address to Joint Session of Congress [ a] Doug Collins Secretary of Veterans Affairs [ 57]
^a b c d e f g 1981, 1989, 1993, 2001, 2009, 2017, 2021 and 2025 speeches were given by incoming presidents and not formal "State of the Union" addresses. ^a b c d For the 2005, 2006, 2016 State of the Union addresses and 2017 Presidential Inauguration, the President pro tempore of the Senate would have been the highest-ranking survivor. ^ WhileShaun Donovan was the designated survivor, Hillary Clinton was overseas and was thede facto designated survivor as the most senior person in the line of succession not present. ^ According toMilitary.com , outgoing Secretary of StateMike Pompeo was the highest-ranking official in the line of succession who did not attend the inauguration, but it was never officially reported whether he, or anyone else, served as designated survivor.[ 51] ^ Due toCOVID-19 protocols requiring limited attendance, most of the cabinet was not present for the speech and thus no formal designated survivor was named.United States Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen was thede facto designated survivor as the most senior person in the line of succession not present. ^a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab "Cabinet Members Who Did Not Attend the State of the Union Address" .www.presidency.ucsb.edu .^ Siegel, Benjamin (January 13, 2016)."Meet Congress' State of the Union Designated Survivors" .ABC News ^ Millstein, Seth (February 6, 2019)."How Is The Designated Survivor Chosen? Rick Perry Won't Be At The 2019 SOTU" .Bustle CBS News reports that the president and their staff are responsible for selecting the designated survivor, andJon Favreau , Barack Obama's former lead speechwriter, spoke to The Ringer about the designated survivor selection process in 2016. Favreau initially said that the process is "entirely random," but then backtracked a bit and said that sometimes, the designated survivor depends on what the president intends to say in their speech. ^a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac "Cabinet members who did not attend the State of the Union Address (since 1984)" (PDF) .United States Senate Historical Office .^ 1984: UPI, "Washington Dateline." January 25, 1984 ^a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad Weiner, Rachel (February 12, 2013)."Steven Chu is the State of the Union 'designated survivor' The Washington Post Archived from the original on August 21, 2017. ^ "Gainesville Sun - Google News Archive Search" .news.google.com .[permanent dead link ^ 1985: UPI, "Washington News." February 6, 1985 ^ 1986: UPI, "Washington News." February 4, 1986 ^ 1987: UPI, "Washington News." January 28, 1987 ^ Hershey, Robert D. Jr. (January 27, 1988)."State of Union: Bewitched by Pageant" The New York Times Archived from the original on December 7, 2014. RetrievedFebruary 13, 2013 . ^ Cillizza, Chris."The story of a real-life 'Designated Survivor' .The Washington Post ISSN 0190-8286 . RetrievedJanuary 20, 2021 . ^ 1990: Washington Post, Page C3. January 31, 1991 ^ 1991: Washington Post, Page C3. January 31, 1991 ^ 1996: USA Today, Page A12. February 5, 1997 ^ 1997: Washington Post, "Agriculture's Glickman Draws Doomsday Duty for Address." Page A13. February 4, 1997 ^ Goodnough, Abby; Waldman, Amy; Barron, James (January 21, 1999)."Not Being Invited Was the Honor" .The New York Times ISSN 0362-4331 .Archived from the original on May 27, 2015. RetrievedApril 19, 2023 . ^ 2000:The Washington Post , "The Reliable Source." Page C3. January 28, 2000 ^ 2001:The New York Times , "Cabinet's 'Designated Absentee' Stays Away." Page A23. January 30, 2002 ^ "THE STATE OF THE UNION; Cabinet's 'Designated Absentee' Stays Away" .The New York Times ISSN 0362-4331 . RetrievedApril 19, 2023 .^ "STATE OF THE UNION; Ashcroft in Secret Spot During Bush Address" .The New York Times ISSN 0362-4331 . RetrievedApril 19, 2023 .^ 2004: AP, "Four to Miss Speech Due to Security." January 20, 2004 ^ "Designated survivor prepares for Inauguration Day" .KMGH . January 19, 2017. RetrievedFebruary 5, 2020 .^ Sacks, Mike (January 19, 2017)."Designated survivor prepares for Inauguration Day" .WGBA . RetrievedFebruary 5, 2020 . ^ "Five Officials Skip State of the Union Address" .The New York Times ISSN 0362-4331 . RetrievedApril 19, 2023 .^ 2006:The Philadelphia Inquirer , "A Message of Energy, Strength." February 1, 2006. ^ 2007:The Washington Post , "The Reliable Source." Page C3. January 25, 2007. ^ "Interior secretary skips speech as safeguard" .The Columbus Dispatch . RetrievedApril 19, 2023 .^ "US Defence Secretary Gates to sit out Obama inauguration" .The Sydney Morning Herald . January 20, 2009. RetrievedApril 19, 2023 .^ Montopoli, Brian (January 19, 2009)."Gates To Be Designated Successor On Inauguration Day" .CBS News ^ O'Keefe, Ed (February 24, 2009)."Holder Staying Away From Obama's Speech" .The Washington Post the original on September 2, 2012. RetrievedDecember 16, 2022 . ^ "Energy secretary skips Obama health care address" .San Diego Union-Tribune . September 10, 2009. RetrievedApril 19, 2023 .^ 2006:CNN , "Secretary Clinton misses State of the Union speech." January 27, 2010. ^ O'Keefe, Ed (January 25, 2011)."State of the Union: Ken Salazar to serve as 'designated survivor' .The Washington Post the original on October 10, 2012. RetrievedJanuary 26, 2011 . ^ "State of the Union: Tom Vilsack to serve as Cabinet's 'designated survivor" .The Washington Post Associated Press . January 24, 2012. RetrievedJanuary 24, 2012 .^ "Shinseki absent from inaugural ceremonies" .The San Diego Union-Tribune . RetrievedDecember 16, 2022 .^ "Energy Secretary to be Designated Survivor during State of the Union" .Fox News ^ Miller, Zeke J (January 28, 2014)."This Man Will Be Your President If The Worst Happens Happens" .Time . Archived fromthe original on January 30, 2014. RetrievedJanuary 29, 2014 . ^ Jackson, David (January 20, 2015)."Obama's 'designated survivor:' Anthony Foxx" .USA Today the original on January 21, 2015. ^ Jackson, David (January 20, 2015)."If the Worst Happens at the State of the Union, Anthony Foxx Will Lead the Country" . NationalJournal. Archived fromthe original on January 21, 2015. RetrievedJanuary 20, 2015 . ^ Shalby, Colleen (January 12, 2016)."If #SOTU disaster strikes, Jeh Johnson ... or a Republican would become president" .Los Angeles Times . RetrievedJanuary 12, 2016 . ^ Saenz, Arlette (January 12, 2016)."State of the Union: Jeh Johnson Named Designated Survivor" .ABC News ^ "Sen. Orrin Hatch acting as a designated survivor during inauguration" .The Salt Lake Tribune .Archived from the original on September 5, 2017. RetrievedJanuary 20, 2017 .^ Weaver, Dustin (January 20, 2017)."Jeh Johnson is designated survivor for inauguration" .The Hill . RetrievedJanuary 20, 2017 . ^ DeBonis, Mike; Johnson, Jenna (January 24, 2017)."Trump to address a joint session of Congress on Feb. 28" The Washington Post Archived from the original on January 24, 2017. RetrievedApril 3, 2017 . ^ Stracqualursi, Veronica (March 1, 2017)."VA Secretary David Shulkin chosen as designated survivor" .ABC News ^ Westwood, Sarah."Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue State of the Union 'designated survivor' .Washington Examiner . Archived fromthe original on February 1, 2018. RetrievedJanuary 30, 2018 . ^ Klein, Betsy; Gray, Noah (February 5, 2019)."Energy Secretary Rick Perry is the designated survivor" .CNN . RetrievedFebruary 5, 2019 . ^ Choi, Matthew (February 4, 2020)."The State of the Union's designated survivor: Interior Secretary David Bernhardt" .Politico . RetrievedFebruary 4, 2020 . ^ Knoller, Mark (February 4, 2020)."What to know about the "designated survivor" and State of the Union" .CBS News . RetrievedFebruary 5, 2020 . ^a b Kime, Patricia (January 20, 2021)."Who Was the Designated Survivor for the Inauguration? Outgoing Administration Doesn't Say" .Military.com . RetrievedFebruary 15, 2021 . ^ Leonard, Ben."No designated survivor for Biden's first joint address to Congress" .Politico . RetrievedApril 28, 2021 . ^ Lee, Min Jung (February 24, 2022)."White House chief of staff tells House Democrats he's hoping State of the Union address will boost Biden's poll numbers | CNN Politics" .CNN . RetrievedFebruary 24, 2022 .^ Stiles, Matt; Vazquez, Maegan (February 7, 2023)."Labor Secretary Walsh is the 'designated survivor' at the State of the Union address" .CNN ^ "Education Secretary Miguel Cardona is the designated survivor for the State of the Union" . March 8, 2024.^ "Who Is the 'Designated Survivor' for Donald Trump's Second Inauguration?" .WNBC . January 20, 2025. RetrievedJanuary 21, 2025 .^ Mitchell, Tia."Georgia's Doug Collins is designated survivor at Trump's congressional address" .The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . RetrievedMarch 5, 2025 .
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Legend:Address to Joint Session Written message Written message with national radio address † Included a detailed written supplement‡ Not officially a "State of the Union"PresidentsWilliam Henry Harrison (1841) andJames Garfield (1881) died in office before delivering a State of the Union
