Doug Collins to serve as designated survivor for Trump’s State of the Union
What's the endgame here?
Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins appears to be the designated survivor for President Donald Trump‘s State of the Union address.
Collins was not in attendance at Trump’s Tuesday night remarks in the U.S. Capitol. The designated survivor views the president’s speech from a secure location to ensure a clean line of succession in the event of an attack.
The move is a sequel for Collins who served as the designated survivor for Trump’s 2025 address to a joint session of Congress. In 2017, that honor went to former Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin, while former Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, former Energy Secretary Rick Berry, and former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt were the designated survivors for Trump’s first term State of the Union addresses.
LIVE UPDATES: TRUMP DELIVERS 2026 STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
Presidential historian and director of the White House Transition Project Martha Joynt Kumar noted to the Washington Examiner that some within the president’s Cabinet, including White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler, aren’t technically eligible to be the designated survivor as those positions aren’t in the official presidential line of succession.
“It has to be a Cabinet secretary,” she explained. “Not just a person the president names as part of his Cabinet.”
Toward that end, Democrats in Congress designated Rep. Mike Thompson to serve as their designated survivor for Tuesday’s event.
“I won’t be there in person, but I’ll be watching,” he wrote in a statement on Monday. “Americans deserve accountability for the militarization of ICE, terrorization of our communities and killing of American citizens.”
I’ve been selected as a designated survivor for tomorrow’s State of the Union, so I won’t be there in person, but I’ll be watching. Americans deserve accountability for the militarization of ICE, terrorization of our communities and killing of American citizens.
— Rep. Mike Thompson (@RepThompson) February 23, 2026
The tradition was formally adopted during the Cold War, when both former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan feared an attack on Washington, D.C. by Soviet Union submarines in the Atlantic Ocean, according to the Associated Press.
In 1980, the Reagan White House formally tasked the Federal Emergency Management Agency with recommending a designated survivor for events where the entire line of succession, including Congressional …
What's the endgame here?
Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins appears to be the designated survivor for President Donald Trump‘s State of the Union address.
Collins was not in attendance at Trump’s Tuesday night remarks in the U.S. Capitol. The designated survivor views the president’s speech from a secure location to ensure a clean line of succession in the event of an attack.
The move is a sequel for Collins who served as the designated survivor for Trump’s 2025 address to a joint session of Congress. In 2017, that honor went to former Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin, while former Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, former Energy Secretary Rick Berry, and former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt were the designated survivors for Trump’s first term State of the Union addresses.
LIVE UPDATES: TRUMP DELIVERS 2026 STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
Presidential historian and director of the White House Transition Project Martha Joynt Kumar noted to the Washington Examiner that some within the president’s Cabinet, including White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler, aren’t technically eligible to be the designated survivor as those positions aren’t in the official presidential line of succession.
“It has to be a Cabinet secretary,” she explained. “Not just a person the president names as part of his Cabinet.”
Toward that end, Democrats in Congress designated Rep. Mike Thompson to serve as their designated survivor for Tuesday’s event.
“I won’t be there in person, but I’ll be watching,” he wrote in a statement on Monday. “Americans deserve accountability for the militarization of ICE, terrorization of our communities and killing of American citizens.”
I’ve been selected as a designated survivor for tomorrow’s State of the Union, so I won’t be there in person, but I’ll be watching. Americans deserve accountability for the militarization of ICE, terrorization of our communities and killing of American citizens.
— Rep. Mike Thompson (@RepThompson) February 23, 2026
The tradition was formally adopted during the Cold War, when both former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan feared an attack on Washington, D.C. by Soviet Union submarines in the Atlantic Ocean, according to the Associated Press.
In 1980, the Reagan White House formally tasked the Federal Emergency Management Agency with recommending a designated survivor for events where the entire line of succession, including Congressional …
Doug Collins to serve as designated survivor for Trump’s State of the Union
What's the endgame here?
Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins appears to be the designated survivor for President Donald Trump‘s State of the Union address.
Collins was not in attendance at Trump’s Tuesday night remarks in the U.S. Capitol. The designated survivor views the president’s speech from a secure location to ensure a clean line of succession in the event of an attack.
The move is a sequel for Collins who served as the designated survivor for Trump’s 2025 address to a joint session of Congress. In 2017, that honor went to former Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin, while former Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, former Energy Secretary Rick Berry, and former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt were the designated survivors for Trump’s first term State of the Union addresses.
LIVE UPDATES: TRUMP DELIVERS 2026 STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
Presidential historian and director of the White House Transition Project Martha Joynt Kumar noted to the Washington Examiner that some within the president’s Cabinet, including White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler, aren’t technically eligible to be the designated survivor as those positions aren’t in the official presidential line of succession.
“It has to be a Cabinet secretary,” she explained. “Not just a person the president names as part of his Cabinet.”
Toward that end, Democrats in Congress designated Rep. Mike Thompson to serve as their designated survivor for Tuesday’s event.
“I won’t be there in person, but I’ll be watching,” he wrote in a statement on Monday. “Americans deserve accountability for the militarization of ICE, terrorization of our communities and killing of American citizens.”
I’ve been selected as a designated survivor for tomorrow’s State of the Union, so I won’t be there in person, but I’ll be watching. Americans deserve accountability for the militarization of ICE, terrorization of our communities and killing of American citizens.
— Rep. Mike Thompson (@RepThompson) February 23, 2026
The tradition was formally adopted during the Cold War, when both former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan feared an attack on Washington, D.C. by Soviet Union submarines in the Atlantic Ocean, according to the Associated Press.
In 1980, the Reagan White House formally tasked the Federal Emergency Management Agency with recommending a designated survivor for events where the entire line of succession, including Congressional …
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