Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins will serve as designated survivor during President Donald Trump's joint address to Congress on Tuesday.
Collins will not be in attendance for the speech at the U.S. Capitol, watching it instead from a secure location afar, to preserve the Constitutional line of succession to the presidency in the event of a cataclysmic event.
The designated survivor would take the reins of government in the case of catastrophe that could incapacitate the president, vice president, speaker of the House and others in the presidential line of succession.
A cabinet member is typically selected to serve as designated survivor for high-profile political events like the State of the Union, inaugurations, and presidential speeches to joint sessions of Congress.
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For Trump's second inauguration, no designated survivor was selected.
