VA Secretary David Shulkin chosen as designated survivor

— -- Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin has been selected as tonight's designated survivor, according to a senior administration official.

Shulkin will be moved to an undisclosed location during President Donald Trump's speech tonight to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill.

Typically chosen by the president's chief-of-staff, the designated survivor would be left to run the country if a disaster were to wipe out the entire presidential line of succession.

According to historians, picking a designated survivor dates back to the 1960s, when the nation was afraid of a nuclear attack.