Federal law stipulates that if the president dies in office, the designated order of succession is from the Vice President, then the Speakers of both Houses of Representatives, and finally the Cabinet secretaries.
Since the Vice President often also serves as the President of the Senate, the top four successors, in order of priority, are: first, the Vice President and President of the Senate; second, the Speaker of the House of Representatives; third, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate; and fourth, the Secretary of State (Secretary of Foreign Affairs).
Next, from the Secretary of the Treasury to the Secretary of Defense, the order of importance of each department is ranked. Maureen, currently serving as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, is ranked 13th, followed by the Secretaries of Transportation, Energy, Education, and Veterans Affairs.
The Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, was newly established after 9/11 and, due to certain concerns, was placed last.
As is well known, being the president of the United States is a highly risky position. To date, four of the 46 presidents have been assassinated, with a mortality rate of 8.6%. There have also been six failed assassination attempts, with a success rate of 33.3%.
While the vice presidency has been vacant before in federal history, the simultaneous vacancy of both the presidency and vice presidency has never occurred, let alone the extreme situation of the president and his successors being ousted simultaneously.
However, this lack of vacancy doesn't mean it's impossible. Even during the Cold War, it was quite possible.
Every year, the president arrives on Capitol Hill to deliver the State of the Union address to both the House and Senate. Not only does the vice president and other cabinet members gather there, but also members of both houses and even the Supreme Court justices.
Similar situations also occur at the inauguration of a new president and other major joint meetings.
Especially during times of major diplomatic crises or war, the president will address Congress to boost morale, as was the case during the first Gulf War and the attacks of September 11th.
If a terrorist attack were to occur during this period, or an intercontinental missile suddenly dropped from the sky, armed with ten independently targetable nuclear warheads, or a single massive warhead weighing up to 1.6 tons, with a range of 12,000 kilometers or more, its trajectory eluding midcourse interception, and equipped with a re-ignition capability for terminal maneuvering and acceleration,
the situation would inevitably be leaderless and chaotic.
Therefore, the "designated survivor" system was created specifically to deal with such extreme situations.
Specifically, one person from the aforementioned eligible candidates for the presidency is randomly selected and transferred to a safe house outside Washington, D.C., equipped with a security team equivalent to the president's and the crucial "nuclear button."
Of course, this random selection is essentially pseudo-random, as the chosen candidate must first meet the constitutional requirements for the presidency:
being at least 35 years old, born in the United States, and having resided there for at least 14 years.
Furthermore, ministers of important departments typically attend important events like the State of the Union address, so the "designated survivor" selection is often less well-known.
"Maureen's still upset about this. Remember to comfort her later." Zoe said this, but the smile on her face was a little hard to suppress.
While the three of them were nice together, eating alone was clearly more cost-effective.
The federal State of the Union address is essentially the president's annual report, essentially summarizing what he's done in the past year and what he plans to do next.
After World War II, with the widespread use of radio and television, the format of the State of the Union address gradually evolved. While the president still addressed both the Senate and the House in person, the true audience shifted from members of Congress to the entire electorate and even overseas audiences.
For this president, the first year of his term is particularly important.
On the surface, this man named Vance actually accomplished a lot in his first year in office, and he seemed to be attempting to continue some of the political principles of the Democratic Party since the previous administration.
For example, he further reduced overseas military forces while firmly defending the interests of "allies," saving the Korean Peninsula president from the brink of a failed coup.
Another example is that while deporting illegal refugees, he also encouraged the reshoring of manufacturing, forcing certain large companies to open more factories in the country to boost employment.
But judging by the actual results, even Jack, who doesn't pay much attention to politics, can sense the man's ambitions and incompetence, as well as the undercurrents beneath the surface.
While the Party's media continues to chant about "victories" every day, they can't hide the reality of the mess.
Domestic factories have opened and closed repeatedly, and decades of "happy education" have been completely ineffective in providing qualified workers for the manufacturing industry.
Even menial jobs like screwing require basic discipline, and the requirements for maintenance engineers in automated factories are even higher.
Putting aside the question of whether the low-level federal workers, who are treated like pigs, would be willing to work in factories screwing, it's simply too much to expect a group of people who rely on calculators for even two-digit addition and subtraction to maintain automated machines.
This wouldn't have been a problem, after all, as the world's beacon of light, every year, countless cattle and horses volunteered to come to the country with their food. While their quality varied, their advantage was their low cost and large quantity.
However, with the current tightening of immigration policies and ICE's crackdown on illegal immigration across the country, new factory projects have seen delays in expansion plans and cuts in investment.
Reshoring manufacturing has never been achieved simply through tariff increases and executive orders.
Unfortunately, despite claiming to come from a Rust Belt working-class family, Vance isn't particularly adept at this area. Zoe euphemistically put it, his greatest contribution since taking office a year ago has been to do nothing in certain areas, perpetuating certain policies from the previous administration.
The next afternoon, Jack drove Zoe to the White House.
Since Lyndon Johnson's time, the State of the Union address has been moved from noon to evening to attract a wider television audience.
But today, the President graciously invited the congresswomen to the White House to accompany his Indian wife to greet a Korean president and his silicone doll wife, so Zoe had to visit the Oval Office before heading to the Capitol.
Every year, the White House invites distinguished guests from diverse backgrounds to the State of the Union address to reinforce policy topics to be addressed.
Clearly, the President considers the quelling of the Korean coup one of his "achievements," successfully allowing the people of Gyeonggi Province to experience firsthand the legendary six-hit-a-second stunt from the No Limit Fighting Tournament.
As Jack drove off, a grand welcome ceremony was being prepared on the South Lawn of the White House. Through the iron fences, he could see numerous Asian-looking band members busy at work.
Although he had a premonition, Jack's Mammoth was still somewhat irritated after being stuck in traffic for nearly an hour due to a road closure.
His destination was Rockville, a small town less than 30 kilometers from downtown. While Washington, D.C., had a Chinatown, it was rather grimy and shabby. He preferred to go the extra mile and visit the small town nicknamed "Shijiazhuang" by the Chinese immigrants.
There, he could enjoy authentic Northeastern barbecued skewers, Chongqing hot pot, and even snail noodles.
Although Washington, D.C., is often considered a less prominent capital city by Americans, Jack actually liked it because of its numerous and concentrated museums and memorials.
A full day would take more than a day to explore the National Museum of Natural History, as would the Air and Space Museum. Since neither of the two ladies had time today, Jack invited Jess to dinner and planned to visit the museums together tomorrow.
"Ms. Jessie Tasker says she's already here," Kate reminded.
Jack leaned out the window and looked at the slowly moving traffic ahead, sighing helplessly, "Apologize for me and tell her it'll be at least half an hour before I get there."
"Message sent."
A low buzzing sound came at this moment, and before Jack could react to where the sound came from, Kate's voice suddenly became sharp, "Jack, get off the main road, immediately!"
"What?" While asking the question, Jack had already reflexively stepped on the accelerator and swung the steering wheel to the right.
The massive body of the "Mammoth" suddenly jumped onto the sidewalk amid the exclamations of passers-by, knocking over a trash can and scaring a delivery boy on a bicycle into crashing into a streetlight.
(End of this chapter)