After returning to the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump delivered a joint speech to Congress for the first time on Tuesday evening (March 3). The president, vice president and all cabinet officials gathered on the scene, so the government activated the "designated survivor" mechanism. The designated survivor this time was Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins. Collins was not in the Capitol, but watched the live broadcast from a safe distance.
It is understood that when the US President, Vice President, congressional leaders and other senior officials attend an event together, they will designate a cabinet member as the "designated survivor". If an accident occurs on site, he will take over as the US President to avoid the government being left without anyone to take over.
When Trump delivered his first address to Congress in 2017, Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin was designated as the "designated survivor," followed by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue in 2018 and Energy Secretary Rick Perry in 2019. In 2020, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt assumed the role.
However, Trump did not select a designated survivor at his second inauguration in January this year.
