Sebastian Gorka, a senior White House counterterrorism aide, told Miranda Devine on the Pod Force One podcast that President Donald Trump has left Vice President J.D. Vance “precise instructions” for what to do if he has to succeed him, and that “there is a letter in the drawer” of the Resolute Desk addressed to the vice president should something happen. Gorka added that there are formal protocols for succession but declined to discuss any classified specifics. His comments arrive at a moment when presidential security is already under a microscope after several recent attacks and close calls.
As reported by the New York Post, Gorka made the remarks during the Post’s Pod Force One show and described the letter as a private contingency document meant solely for the vice president. The Post credited the exchange to host Miranda Devine and attributed every detail about the letter to that on-air conversation.
Gorka, who serves in the White House as deputy assistant to the president and senior director for counterterrorism, has become a prominent public face of the administration’s counterterrorism agenda. ProPublica and other outlets have reported on his role inside the National Security Council and on efforts to reframe which threats receive top billing.
His revelation comes against a backdrop of real-world violence. At a July 13, 2024 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a gunman opened fire from a nearby rooftop, grazing Trump’s upper right ear and killing at least one bystander before a Secret Service counter-sniper fatally engaged the attacker, according to reporting from the Associated Press. That shooting triggered internal and congressional reviews of how the Secret Service secures campaign events.
More recently, on April 25, 2026, a man later identified as Cole Tomas Allen rushed past screening outside the Washington Hilton and fired shots near the ballroom entrance for the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. Federal prosecutors have charged him with attempted assassination of the president, the Los Angeles Times reported. The case is unfolding in federal court and has intensified scrutiny of hotel perimeters and high-profile event security in Washington.
Leaving a private note for a successor is a long-standing tradition in the Oval Office, and the Resolute Desk is a centerpiece of that ritual. The White House Historical Association has documented the desk’s history, and outlets noted that President Trump discovered a note left by President Joe Biden in the drawer after Trump’s January 20, 2025 return to the Oval Office.
Legal and constitutional context
Legally, a private letter cannot alter the official line of succession. The 25th Amendment and the Presidential Succession Act spell out how power transfers if a president dies, resigns, or becomes incapacitated. The National Constitution Center explains the 25th Amendment’s procedures for handling presidential disability, while a Congressional Research Service primer details the order of succession set by 3 U.S.C. § 19. Under those rules, the vice president takes over by operation of law, regardless of any personal instructions the president may leave behind.
Gorka told the Post that “the president is very safe,” emphasizing that the letter and other protocols should be seen as standard contingency planning, not as proof of any specific looming threat. Whether that reassurance calms nerves or stirs more debate, his disclosure highlights how back-up plans and very public security lapses now coexist as part of everyday presidential life.
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