‘Designated survivor’ was Sonny
I hope you were watching President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday evening. Though it was long, late at night and void of references to agriculture, I think it was a heck of a speech for the president’s first full-blown State of the Union address.
You may have noticed that a very important person to agriculture was missing from the crowd. The 2018 “designated survivor” was none other than Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue.
The custom of having a “designated survivor” for the president’s State of the Union address is a morbid and quirky tradition that dates back to the 1960s during the Cold War.
The “designated survivor” is essentially what it sounds like. If disaster strikes the Capitol and kills the president and his successors, that individual will carry out the duties of the president. Other high-profile events have a “designated survivor,” including the presidential Inauguration.
In the line of succession after the President is the Vice President, Speaker of the House, President Pro Tempore of the Senate, then Cabinet members in order of being confirmed.
Though the Cabinet member selected is announced shortly before the speech, he or she will have already gone through training in preparation for the worst. That person is housed in a secure and secret location outside of Washington until the speech is over, under Secret Service surveillance for the entirety of the speech.
During President Trump’s first address in 2017 the “designated survivor” was Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin, who is the only Cabinet member left from the Barack Obama administration.
It’s common for the “designated survivor” to have a lower rank in the Cabinet, but that’s not always that case.
The secretary of agriculture has been a common “designated survivor.” In 1986, it was Secretary John Block. In 1987, it was Secretary Richard Lyng. In 1992, it was Secretary Ed Madigan. In 1994, it was Secretary Mike Espy. In 1997, it was Secretary Dan Glickman. And in 2012, it was Secretary Tom Vilsack.
A very cool perk of being named the “designated survivor” is carrying the “football.” It’s a nearly 50-pound briefcase that holds the nuclear launch codes. That means that Secretary Perdue—albeit for only 1.5 hours—had the nuclear codes.
Though the tradition is said to date back to the 1960s, a recorded list of “designated survivors” dates back to 1984.
The minority party usually has one or two “designated survivors.” But it wasn’t necessary this year, as about a dozen Democrat lawmakers skipped the president’s speech entirely, which I wish was surprising but sadly isn’t.
Editor’s note: Seymour Klierly writes Washington Whispers for the Journal from inside the Beltway.
