(NewsNation) — Ever wonder what it’s like to be a designated survivor?
Yes, it’s a real government practice — not just a TV series drama.
Every year, a Cabinet member is chosen by the president to stay hidden in a secure, undisclosed location during the State of the Union in case of a catastrophic attack on the Capitol. It’s a practice that was started in the 1950s as a Cold War-era policy to keep the government from being dismantled completely, according to the National Constitution Center.
Like the president, the designated survivor must be at least 35 years of age and a natural-born U.S. citizen.
While the nation won’t know Thursday’s pick until after President Joe Biden’s State of the Union has begun, the president’s recent picks have included Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
In 2007, then-U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was selected for the job by then-President George W. Bush. He joined NewsNation’s “Morning in America” on Thursday to share his experience of being appointed the nation’s designated survivor.
Gonzales was approached by former White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten about a week before Bush’s 2007 address. He was presented with two options in terms of what he could do the evening of the address.
“The option I chose was to put me in an airplane during the State of the Union,” Gonzales said. “I just felt perhaps it would be kind of cool to fly around as the president gave the State of the Union.”
Upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Gonzales was joined by individuals from every major department and agency who were carrying big binders of protocols and procedures needed to advise him in the event he became president.
“President Bush gave his State of the Union, and it was at that point in time where I suddenly realized, ‘Oh, my gosh, if something happened back at the Capitol, then conceivably, I would become president of the United States,'” Gonzalez said. “It is a sobering thought, quite frankly.”
Gonzales said there was no special training to prepare him for being the designated survivor, he assumed that the people who joined him on the aircraft had vast knowledge of what would happen next and would inform him in the event anything had happened.
“I was honored to do it,” he said. “There is a statute that outlines the line of presidential succession … (if) anyone that is killed above me in that line of succession, if they’re all gone, I’d become president.”
While he might not know who will be the designated survivor Thursday night, he advised that whoever is chosen try to enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime experience.
