State of the Union’s designated survivor: Who is it and what it means?

Every key member of the Washington power structure, including politicians, Supreme Court justices, and senior military officers, will be standing within arms reach of US President Joe Biden when he takes the stage at the US Capitol on Tuesday to deliver the State of the Union speech.

However, one participant, the so-called “designated survivor,” will be clearly missing. The identity of this designated survivor will be kept a well-guarded secret until after the event.

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Who is a designated survivor?

In order to protect the line of presidential succession, the designated survivor is a senior official who is not supposed to be in the US Capitol building and is instead expected to take part in a strange procedure. This individual is responsible for leading the country in case an unexpected disaster kills all the other government officials present for the address.

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The National Constitution Center claims that due to worries about a nuclear attack during the Cold War, the practice of selecting a survivor during the State of the Union speech started in the 1950s.

Since the vice president and both houses of Congress are usually present at the event, the candidate is picked from further down the presidential succession line.

The designated survivor must be qualified to serve as president. Additionally, if a higher-ranking replacement makes it through a potential crisis, then they take over as president.

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While staying away from the Capitol for the president’s speech, the majority of designated survivors continue with their regular schedules. During her year as a designated survivor, Raimondo claimed that it had been “quite uneventful,” remaining outside of Washington “but doing my work like any other day.”