State of the Union 2024: Education Secretary Miguel Cardonas tapped as designated survivor

One person who won’t be attending President Joe Biden‘s 2024 State of the Union address is Education Secretary Miguel Cardonas, this year’s designated survivor.

Instead of being in the House of Representatives, Cardonas will watch what could be Biden’s last presidential report to Congress from a secure location so there can be continuity of government in case there is an attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo was the State of the Union designated survivor in 2022 and then-Labor Secretary Marty Walsh was her counterpart in 2023. Walsh, the former mayor of Boston, is now executive director of the National Hockey League Players’ Association.

The practice of choosing a designated survivor, typically a responsibility of the White House chief of staff with the person having to be eligible to be president, dates back to the Cold War, with Congress introducing a similar process after Sept. 11, 2001. Continuity of government is also ensured by the Presidential Succession Act of 1792.

The White House previewed earlier Thursday that Biden would announce during his State of the Union that he is ordering the U.S. military to construct a temporary seaport in Gaza, creating another entry point for humanitarian aid amid the Israel–Hamas war.

Biden is also poised to underscore what he describes as his economic success, proposing more populist policies, from raising the corporate tax rate to 28%, increasing the minimum income tax for billionaires to 25%, and expanding Medicare taxes for the rich.

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In addition, he is expected to emphasize differences between himself and Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, on issues such as abortion access and democracy, as he asks the GOP to work with him regarding the border and Ukraine funding before November’s elections.