Who Will Be Designated Survivor 2018?
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What’s the story?
When it comes to being designated survivor, being voted off the island could be a good thing. You miss the big party, but if there’s a massive attack on the United States, you’re still alive…and also president.
Every year, dating back to the Cold War during the 1960’s (and possibly earlier), there’s been a designated survivor any time a political event occurs that brings the president and his cabinet together in one place, though their names have only been made public since the 1980’s.
If there were some kind of attack on the event, the designated survivor guarantees the proper presidential succession.
The designated survivor, therefore, must be in the line of succession. The succession order is stipulated by the Constitution, but has been amended via legislation as Cabinet members' positions have evolved. The succession moves from president to vice president, then the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President pro tempore of the Senate, and down through the heads of the federal executive departments that make up the president’s Cabinet.
Inaugurations get designated survivors from the previous president’s Cabinet, since the incoming president’s cabinet hasn’t been seated yet. The State of the Union also gets one, though Tuesday’s designated survivor hasn’t been announced yet. Who it is will be decided by the president and his staff.
The designated survivor gets a full presidential security detail, and is whisked away to an undisclosed, secure location along with the "nuclear football", which contains the nuclear war codes. According to CBS News, however, the “designated survivor is not briefed on what to do if something actually happened to the president.”
Since 2003, one member of each house of Congress has also not attended the speech in order to also preserve legislative succession in the event of an attack.
What do you think?
Who would you choose to be the designated survivor this year and why? Who would you choose for each house of Congress?
Tell us in the comments what you think, then use the Take Action button to tell your reps!
— Asha Sanaker
(Photo Credit: TV.com)
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