Trump's State of the Union Address... 'Designated Survivor' is the Minister of the Interior

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] During President Donald Trump's State of the Union address, David Bernhardt, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, watched the speech on TV from outside Washington DC. This was because he was far from the U.S. Congress where the speech took place, in order to perform presidential duties in case of an emergency involving President Trump.

On the 4th (local time), U.S. media reported that President Trump had designated Secretary Bernhardt as the "designated survivor" in preparation for any emergency.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

In the United States, when the president delivers the State of the Union address outlining the direction of national governance for the year, the federal Senate and House of Representatives, cabinet secretaries, and Supreme Court justices all gather together. Because of this, there has been a practice of selecting a person to perform the president's duties in case these officials suffer casualties due to terrorism or attacks, and having that person wait at a separate location.

The U.S. Constitution stipulates that if the president becomes incapacitated, the line of succession proceeds in the order of the vice president, who also serves as the president of the Senate, the speaker of the House, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and so on.

The designated survivor system was created under the principle that the U.S. government must continue to function even in emergencies. This system gained attention in 2016 when the American ABC network aired a drama titled "Designated Survivor." In the drama, the president and other top U.S. officials all die in a terrorist attack, and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development assumes the presidency. Typically, designated survivors have been cabinet members who do not have a prominent presence.

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