The designated survivor you’ve never heard of

In a strange twist, Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calf.) announced he was picked as the "designated survivor" for President Donald Trump's 2026 State of the Union address. It prompted a lot of questions from the congressional press.

In an X post Monday, Thompson said, "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."

"A designated survivor? [F]or what?" asked Punch Bowl News founder Jake Sherman in a since-deleted X post.

Author and NBC News reporter Jonathan Allen wrote, "Narrator: Mike Thompson is not in the line of succession."

"Wait, what?" questioned Capitol Hill reporter Juliegrace Brufke.

In fact, the only member of Congress specifically named in the line of succession is the Speaker of the House, who is second on the list after the vice president. The rest are members of the Cabinet, USA.gov explained.

However, after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Congress began naming a person to be among the designated survivors from their branch of the legislature.

ABC News reported in 2016 that the designated congressional survivor's purpose is "to ensure the continuity of the legislative branch."

“There has to be continuity,” said Michael Stokke told ABC. He previously served as deputy chief of staff to former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.). “If a plane hit the House when you’re in a joint session, you’re taking out a majority of Congress.”

“You need someone there to understand why we did certain things, and what rules applied to the House,” he said.

Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) was the one who chose him, Thompson said in a press release.

When the planes crashed into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, United Airlines Flight 93 was targeting a federal government building in Washington D.C. It crashed in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania, instead.

The designated survivor in the Cabinet began in the late 1950s during the Cold War, though the first time it was announced was in 1981 after former President Ronald Reagan's speech, History.com said.

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