Education Secretary Miguel Cardona is the designated survivor for Biden’s State of the Union

By Betsy Klein, CNN

Washington (CNN) — Education Secretary Miguel Cardona is this year’s designated survivor, retreating from Washington to an undisclosed location during President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Thursday.

Cardona will stay away from the US Capitol, fulfilling the annual task of remaining outside the House chamber during the president speech in case disaster strikes.

Cardona, a former educator, became the secretary of education in March 2021.

This year’s State of the Union comes months before the 2024 general election as Biden’s Cabinet has been actively taking his message outside Washington, serving as key emissaries for president’s biggest legislative accomplishments. 

The education secretary is sixteenth in the presidential line of succession.

The presidential line of succession is outlined in the Presidential Succession Act of 1792, which was updated during the Truman administration in the Presidential Succession Act of 1947.

The current line of succession is:

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was born in Cuba and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm was born in Canada. Both were naturalized as US citizens, but they are ineligible to serve as president and therefore cannot be the designated survivor.

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

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