The United States of America appointed Secretary of Interior David Bernhardt as the designated survivor. He will remain out of the House during State of the Union address. The designated survivor is a member of Cabinet and is appointed every year as a precautionary measure in case of entire House and its members die during the State of the Union address due to any disaster.
Trump's lies unearthed
On the eve of impeachment verdict, President Donald Trump addressed the State of the Union and said that the US has gained the No 1 spot in the world in the production of oil and natural gas during his tenure. Trump said, "Due to our regulatory reduction campaign, the United States has become the number one producer of oil and natural gas in the world."
Reacting to the same, Democratic representative Bill Pascrell of New Jersy staged a walkout. He then tweeted the reason for his early exit and said, "I can't stand a liar. This man's presidency is a national tragedy." Meanwhile, Democratic freshman Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts had said that they would not attend Trump's address of the State of the Union.
US was top in producing oil and natural gas during Barack Obama's tenure
According to the statistics of the US' Energy Information Administration, US was in No 1 spot in producing oil and natural gas during Barack Obama's tenure in 2012. However, the US topped the list of countries in terms of crude oil during Trump's administration.
Reports claim that the US surpassed Russia and attained the No 1 spot in producing natural gas in 2009. It had left behind Saudi Arabia to become the top producer of petroleum hydrocarbons in 2013. Trump's claim of building new strong and long 100 miles of border wall was also criticized. The fact is that according to US Customs and Border Protection as of January 31,115 miles of new border wall system has been built. Most of the wall is the replacement of the dilapidated wall and not new one as claimed by Trump.
The Senate will vote on Trump's impeachment today (February 5). Trump is facing impeachment for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Designated Survivor
The term became popular after the series on American political drama "Designated Survivor" created by David Guggenheim was aired globally on Netflix. Kiefer Sutherland starred as Thomas Kirkman, who is named as the designated survivor for the State of the Union address. He takes up the position of the President as the entire Senate collapses and members die in a disaster.
