Education Secretary Miguel Cardona named as State of the Union survivor

Washington
CNN
—

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona is this year's designated survivor, being evacuated from Washington to an undisclosed location during President Joe Biden's State of the Union address on Thursday.

Cardona will stay away from the U.S. Capitol, fulfilling his annual mission of remaining outside the House chamber during the president's speech in case disaster strikes.

Cardona, a former educator, was appointed as Secretary of Education in March 2021.

This year's State of the Union address comes months before the 2024 general election, with Biden's Cabinet actively carrying his message outside of Washington as a key envoy for the president's biggest legislative accomplishment.

Cardona is 15th in line for presidential succession.

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

The current order of inheritance is as follows.

• Vice President Kamala Harris
• Speaker of the House Mike Johnson
• Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray
• Secretary of State Antony Blinken
• Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen
• Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin
• Attorney General Merrick Garland
• Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland
• Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack
• Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo
• Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su
• Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra
• Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge
• Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg
• Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona
• Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dennis McDonough

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was born in Cuba, and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm was born in Canada. Although both are naturalized U.S. citizens, they are not eligible to serve as president and therefore cannot be designated survivors.

This story has been updated with additional reporting.