Because of the remote possibility of a catastrophic attack which could wipe out large portions of the U.S. federal government, the entire United States Cabinet is rarely gathered in one place at the same time, in order to maintain continuity of government with regard to presidential succession.

During State of the Union Addresses and presidential inaugurations (which almost all top-ranked federal officials attend) one member of the cabinet, the designated survivor, is kept in a separate, secure, and undisclosed location apart from the rest of the Cabinet in the event of a catastrophic event. It is a practice that originates from the darkest days of the Cold War and fears of a nuclear attack. Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, one Representative and one Senator of each political party have served as designated survivors concurrently with the Cabinet member, so they can ascend to the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives or President Pro Tempore of the Senate (the offices that are respectively first and second in the line of succession to the presidency after the Vice President).

List of designated survivors

• 1990 State of the Union: Edward J. Derwinski, Secretary of Veterans Affairs
• 1993 State of the Union: Bruce Babbitt, Secretary of the Interior
• 1995 State of the Union: Federico Pena, Secretary of Transportation
• 1996 State of the Union: Donna Shalala, Secretary of Health and Human Services
• 1997 State of the Union: Dan Glickman, Secretary of Agriculture
• 1998 State of the Union: William Daley, Secretary of Commerce
• 1999 State of the Union: Andrew Cuomo, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
• 2000 State of the Union: Bill Richardson, Secretary of Energy
• 2001 State of the Union: Anthony Principi, Secretary of Veterans Affairs
• 2002 State of the Union: Gale Norton, Secretary of the Interior
• 2003 State of the Union: John Ashcroft, Attorney General
• 2004 State of the Union: Donald Evans, Secretary of Commerce
• 2005 Presidential Inauguration: Gale Norton, Secretary of the Interior
• 2005 State of the Union [1] (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-4774660,00.html): Donald Evans, Secretary of Commerce
  John Doolittle (R-CA), House Republican Conference Secretary
  George Miller (D-CA), Ranking Democrat, House Education and the Workforce Committee
  Ted Stevens (R-AK), President Pro Tempore of the Senate
  Kent Conrad (D-ND), Ranking Democrat, Senate Budget Committee