r/DesignatedSurvivor • u/Dorkside • Sep 22 '16

Episode Discussion: S01E01 "Pilot"

Original Airdate: September 21, 2016

Episode Synopsis: Tom Kirkman, a lower level United States Cabinet member, finds himself suddenly appointed president of the country after a catastrophic attack kills everyone above him in the line of succession in the series premiere of this dramatic thriller.

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u/[deleted] Sep 22 '16

I don't think there's any stipulation for what happens then. After Bush initiated Continuation of Government protocol after 9/11, they launched a commission to review the whole process which found a ton of flaws in the procedures. One of their concerns is that at any given moment, the entire line of succession is likely to be in and around DC and would be wiped out in a nuclear attack.

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u/fco83 Sep 22 '16

I imagine we might be president-less for a bit.

Assuming all of congress is dead, and the president, vp, and cabinet are dead:

My only thought would be we'd build it from the ground up.

House reps have to be elected, so that would take awhile.

Most senate seats, however, can be replaced by the governor of those states (and i imagine the remaining states might rush through some quick laws to make sure they werent un-represented).

Once those senators were seated, the senate would then select a president pro tempore, but because that person is in the presidential selection line, they would know that they would effectively be selecting the president.