Question

All cabinet members attend the State of the Union address with the exception of one. Why does this one person not attend the speech? A. In case of an emergency during the speech, she/he would take over as president. B. All members are not allowed to participate according to the Declaration of Independence. C. A representative of the opposing party stays at home to represent the party's objection to the current president. D. Those present at the speech symbolically represent the nation's successes; the absent member represents the nation's failures.

Answer 1

Answer:

The correct answer is A. One cabinet member does not attend the State of the Union address because, in case of an emergency during the speech, she or he would take over as president. This is called "designated survivor".

Explanation:

Designated survivor is an absent cabinet member who was deliberately arranged when the U.S. President and other senior leaders of the country are gathered together, in order to ensure that in case of the death of all members, there is still an official who can become acting president of the United States of America under the Presidential Succession Act.

Designated survivors were set up during the Cold War for fear of a nuclear strike against senior leaders such as the president. The location of the "designated survivor" is strictly confidential.

Answer 2

A because it would prevent the united states from going into a complete downfall in the event of a terrorist attack killing all of the politicians in the building at the time. Instead if one member is not attending they could take over and restore order in the country immediately