Education Secretary Miguel Cardona is the designated survivor for President Biden’s State of the Union address, meaning he will stay away from the U.S. Capitol in an undisclosed location during the event.

Every year, one member of the president’s Cabinet will remain outside the House chamber during the State of the Union in case disaster strikes.

The move ensures the line of succession in case an unforeseen tragedy or attack wipes out or incapacitates the rest of the government gathered for the speech.

Last year, the designated survivor was Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and in 2022 it was Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
Mr. Cardona is 15th in the line of succession.

Both Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas (Cuba) and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm (Canada) were born outside the United States, but are naturalized as U.S. citizens. Still, their ineligibility to serve as president means they cannot be the designated survivor. 

• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.