I read somewhere that one Cabinet member is always kept away from large gatherings (like inaugurations) as a security measure in case of large-scale disaster. How do they decide who that will be? or is it on rotation?
They take somebody who is a) low on the political importance scale and b) willing. Other than that, it depends. No set pattern or rule.
Generally, it’s the lowest in seniority, based on when the office became part of the cabinet – Currently Secretary of Homeland Security (which, actually makes some sense – if there is a large-scale disaster, he’d be the one to deal with it anyway).
But it could be any cabinet member.
Well, any cabinet member (or recently member of Congress) who is eligible to the presidency, according to Wikipedia’s article on the designated survivor.
A quick Google search for “missing cabinet member” shows at various times, the honor fell to the Attorney General, Secretary of Agriculture, and Secretary of the Interior.
I found one source that said the tradition started in the 1950s, but no details.
They also take into account who would be out of town that day anyway. Why make the SecLabor the designee when the SecAg will be in Denver for a conference?
I like to think it’s decided with a quick few rounds of Rock Paper Scissors.
That would make sense - with the advent of nuclear weapons, it’s easier to envisage taking out the entire Cabinet at one blow.
The designated successor for the inauguration was Defense Secretary Robert Gates. As I said in another thread, it makes sense because he’s already very familiar with the government, and because he’s probably best equipped to deal with a catastrophic event.
Seems to generally be lower ranking Cabinet members, though not exclusively (at least it is rarely one of the big 4 cabinet posts). And it looks like recently they have had members of Congress not present as well during State of the Union addresses, presumably to be able to restart the legislative branch.
Isn’t Gates the only member of Obama’s cabinet that had actually been confirmed by the Senate at the moment Obama became President?
Yes – although all the existing cabinet members continue in their jobs until the new ones are confirmed and sworn in. For the big guys, that happens very quickly: the Senate confirmed Obama’s Secretary of Homeland Security OMB director and a few others within a couple hours of the inauguration, and the vote on Hillary Clinton’s nomination for Secretary of State is expected tomorrow. Until then, Secretary Rice is still in the line of succession.
Generally, it is some random cabinet secretary, but I recall that for President Bush’s address to a joint session of Congress shortly after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, when it wasn’t clear whether other attacks on Washington were planned, it was Vice President Cheney who stayed away at one of his “undisclosed locations.”
Nobody picked by Obama can be OKd before he is sworn in because he has to officially request they be approved by the full Senate and he can only do that when he’s actually president.