Overview
- Multiple outlets identified Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins as the Cabinet member kept away from the Capitol during President Trump's address, repeating his designated survivor role from 2025.
- Collins, who is 17th in the presidential line of succession, was absent from the chamber and, like past designees, observed from a secure, undisclosed location.
- House Democrats selected Rep. Mike Thompson of California as their congressional-designated survivor, a choice he said was made by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
- Thompson watched from a secure site while his guest, Marine Corps veteran and Napa City Councilmember Bernie Narvaez, attended the speech in person.
- The selection process is informal and typically kept confidential until the event, a practice rooted in Cold War planning that requires designees to meet constitutional eligibility for the presidency.