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Reportedly, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins has been chosen as the designated survivor for President Trump’s upcoming address to Congress on Tuesday.
The designated survivor is someone in the line of presidential succession, typically a lower-ranking cabinet member. This person is kept away from other government leaders when they are gathered in one place, in case of a disaster.
Multiple news outlets have reported that Collins is the designated survivor.
This practice ensures the government can continue operating even if a catastrophic event eliminates all those present at a major government gathering. Some members of Congress are also kept separate to ensure the legislative branch’s continuity.
The practice originated during the Cold War, fueled by concerns about nuclear war. The designated survivor is chosen to be eligible to become president, so they can lead the country if a nuclear attack wipes out the presidential line of succession.
There are few occasions when all U.S. government leaders are in the same location, making the selection of a designated survivor rare, typically occurring only a few times during each presidency. The American Presidency Project at the University of California-Santa Barbara maintains a of designated survivors dating back to Ronald Reagan’s presidency in 1984.
In in 2017, Dan Glickman, who served as Secretary of Agriculture under President Bill Clinton, recounted his experience as a designated survivor, spending the State of the Union address at his daughter’s New York City apartment.
“I don’t recall getting any specific instructions on what to do if the doomsday scenario happened. All I knew is that if necessary, I could turn to that military officer accompanying me, holding that 45-pound bag, and trigger a military response, including a nuclear strike,” Glickman wrote about his experience. “It felt like an awesome responsibility to put on one man’s shoulders, even if it was exceedingly unlikely the president—or in this case, the secretary of agriculture—would ever have to use it.”
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