Designated Survivor

The Designated Survivor is the name given to the one senior member of government, picked at random, who is kept away in a secret location from large events in the United States that require the presence of most or all of the Executive staff and Cabinet (such as an inauguration or State of the Union address).

In the event of an attack that would kill or incapacitate the President, Vice President and other high-ranking officials, the Designated Survivor would assume the Presidency in order to ensure the continuance of government and to avoid a situation where the United States is left without a leader.

The Designated Survivor must come from the Presidential Line of Succession and must meet all other requirements for becoming President of the United States: an American-born citizen, over the age of 35. Officially, the determination is a random selection; however, if the event will focus on a particular issue (e.g., education), a particular Cabinet member over that area (e.g., Secretary of Education) would NOT be chosen, as his/her presence is intended to show support for the proposed actions.

In addition, at any such event where Congress is present, each chamber designates two members (one from each political party) as its designated survivors.

The concept led to an ABC show of the same name which started in 2016 and ran for three seasons (two on ABC and the third on Netflix), where a low-ranking Cabinet member assumes the office of the President after such an attack.