Rachel Maddow mocks Trump admin's possible ‘designated survivor’ picks for State of the Union

WASHINGTON, DC: MS NOW's Rachel Maddow recently highlighted a curious and often overlooked aspect of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union Address scheduled for Tuesday, February 24.

Maddow highlighted the protocol known as the "designated survivor," in which a Cabinet member is placed in a secure location during public speeches, prepared to assume the presidency if a catastrophic attack were to strike the Capitol.

Rachel Maddow on the 'dystopian' tradition

Maddow observed that while the designated survivor is usually a routine appointment, this year presented an unusual dilemma for Trump. Even his least prominent Cabinet officials, she noted, were mired in scandal.

Maddow began by framing the tradition as “very dystopian and weird,” noting that it is nonetheless conducted every year. She explained that the designated survivor is usually not a high-profile figure.

She said, “You’d think, given the responsibility associated with being the designated survivor, you’d think they’d pick like the most widely respected person. They’d pick the person who everybody agrees would be the best choice to take over the country in the wake of an unimaginable disaster.”

Contrary to that expectation, Maddow emphasized, "They don't do that, actually. Kind of the opposite. The person does get some attention for being picked as the designated survivor every year, but usually the person is kind of not well known."

She further suggested that, in a typical year, a position like the labor secretary might be considered ideal, since it is an area of relatively low interest for the administration. “So maybe they just, you know, keep things quiet, pick somebody low-key, make the labor secretary the designated survivor this year,” Maddow said.

Rachel Maddow on apparent scandals surrounding Trump’s Cabinet

However, Maddow highlighted why the Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer was far from a simple choice. Reports surfaced alleging that Chavez-DeRemer was under investigation for “inappropriate relationship with employee.”

According to Maddow, these reports originated from a complaint filed with the Labor Department’s inspector general. Additional allegations included drinking in her office during the workday and committing travel fraud by directing her chief of staff and deputy chief of staff to fabricate official trips so she could spend time with family or friends at taxpayers’ expense.

Maddow remarked, “Do you want to put a spotlight on that hot mess right now? That absolutely radioactive scandal engulfing everything related to Trump’s labor secretary? Yeah. Maybe not.”

Maddow then considered other Cabinet offices, such as the Commerce Department, which also proved problematic. She cited revelations from the Jeffrey Epstein files indicating that Trump’s Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had a long-standing business relationship with the offender.

“Oh, yeah, that’s the commerce secretary. So maybe we can’t have the commerce secretary be the designated survivor either,” Maddow noted.