CNN: Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, former R.I. Governor, selected as Designated Survivor ahead of State of the Union
RHODE ISLAND (WLNE)- CNN has reported that Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, former Governor of Rhode Island, has been selected as the designated survivor for President Biden’s first State of the Union address.
The designated survivor is an appointed position by the administration who refrains from attending the event in the event of a disaster.
Secretary Raimondo’s department focuses on economic growth, overseeing a wide variety of programs from the National Weather Service, Foreign Commercial Service, and Census. Raimondo has worked on bipartisan economic competition with China, including work on the Build Back Better agenda and heavily featured throughout supply-chain issues riddling the nation.
According to CNN, Secretary Raimondo is the tenth in line of succession for the presidency. The line of succession is as follows:
- Vice President Kamala Harris
- Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
- President Pro Tempore of the Senate Patrick Leahy
- Secretary of State Antony Blinken
- Secretary of the Treasury 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
- Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh
- Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra
- Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge
- Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg
- Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona
- Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough
