When President Trump delivers his State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday evening, he will be at the center of the Secret Service’s protective envelope.
But as is the norm, the Trump administration will designate a Cabinet official to assume the office of president if a catastrophe strikes the Capitol, known as the “designated survivor.” That individual will take over as president should Trump and those in the interceding order of presidential succession be wiped out. But who should Trump nominate?
Secretary of Defense Mark Esper is the obvious and best choice.
There would be five immediate concerns in the aftermath of a loss of government decapitation strike: national security, national security, public reassurance, national security, and national security. Considering what it would take to kill the president, vice president, 535 members of Congress, the Supreme Court, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and their guests, a suitcase/container nuclear strike on the Capitol is at the higher end of possibilities. (Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and congressional leaders would be evacuated in the event an incoming ballistic missile-borne nuclear attack was detected.)
This speaks to the first point: Esper would be particularly well-suited to address a nuclear-threat concern.
As the senior Cabinet official responsible for nuclear weapons, the secretary of defense is briefed and trained in the direction of U.S. nuclear forces. Indeed, the secretary of defense must confirm a presidential order to use nuclear weapons in conformity with his role as the second primary civilian official in the national command authority. So were the United States to face a nuclear attack, Esper would be able to quickly orientate the U.S. military into responsive action, whatever that might mean.
Incidentally, the defense secretary is also the primary safeguard against an insane president ordering nuclear strikes without cause. Although the defense secretary could be fired if he refused to confirm a presidential strike order, his refusal would create time and space for the Cabinet to enact the 25th Amendment and remove the president. But I digress.
Esper is the right choice for another reason: He is a retired military officer.
During his time in the Army, Esper led light infantry companies and served in the Gulf War, for which he was awarded a Bronze Star Medal. A graduate of the Army’s pathfinder and ranger schools, Esper has learned the exigencies of command under pressure. In turn, Esper would be well-placed to respond to a national crisis by absorbing relevant available information and making decisions quickly and decisively. Whatever the circumstances of a Capitol catastrophe, that command ability would be crucial. A designated survivor who needed major on-the-job training would introduce exceptional danger.
Ultimately, I’ve never understood why the designated survivor is normally an official who has little to do with national security. Last year, for example, the designee was Energy Secretary Rick Perry. But going forward, we should set a rule: The secretary of defense is not invited to the State of the Union — he or she has more important contingencies to attend to.
