Why there won't be a designated survivor at Biden's 1st speech to Congress [View all]

[Rhiannon12866]

There will be no designated survivor when President Biden delivers his first joint address to Congress Wednesday night, the White House announced Tuesday.

“There does not need to be a designated survivor because the Cabinet will be watching from their offices or home, but they will not be joining him for the speech,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.

Whenever the president addresses Congress, the White House usually keeps one member of the Cabinet away from the Capitol in a secure location while the other Cabinet secretaries attend the speech. The Cabinet member who stays behind is known as the “designated survivor,” and would become president should an attack wipe out the rest of the presidential line of succession.

This year, however, concerns about the ongoing pandemic have limited the number of people who will be present in the Capitol for the speech, and only two Cabinet secretaries will be there.

Roughly 200 people will be attending the speech at the Capitol, including the four people directly in line of succession following Biden: Vice President Kamala Harris, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate President Pro Tempore Patrick Leahy and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Should disaster befall the highly secure building during Biden’s speech, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen would be next in line to take over.


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