New York – President-elect Donald Trump plans to nominate former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, to be his transportation secretary, a transition official said on Tuesday.
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Chao was labor secretary under President George W. Bush and the first Asian-American woman to hold a Cabinet position. The formal announcement was expected Tuesday afternoon.
Chao, the wife of Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, served as labor secretary under President George W. Bush and was the first Asian-American woman to hold a Cabinet position. The formal announcement was expected Tuesday afternoon.
Chao came to the United States from Taiwan with her family at 8 years old. Her family settled in New York, where her father became a wealthy shipping magnate. She became head of the Peace Corps and deputy secretary of Transportation before taking over the Labor Department.
As Labor secretary, her job was to protect the nation’s workforce, including setting safety standards and addressing issues related to wages and retirement. She updated overtime regulations for “white-collar” workers and rules intended to force unions to disclose more details on their financial condition to members.
Although Trump spoke on the campaign trail about wanting to “drain the swamp” in Washington, more than half of Trump’s nine key appointments so far have been accomplished Washington insiders, such as Chao.
Chao will face a number of big decisions at the agency that overseas the nation’s vehicles, airplanes, railroads, pipelines, ports and highways – including how to proceed on the use of self-driving cars on U.S. roads, the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, and whether U.S. fuel efficiency standards should be revised.
She may also take a leading role in Trump’s plans to rebuild U.S. infrastructure. Trump has called for $1 trillion in infrastructure spending over 10 years to rebuild airports, bridges and other projects, but it is unclear how much of the funding would come from the federal budget.
Chao is a former U.S. deputy transportation secretary and sits on the board of Wells Fargo
I don’t like this pick one bit. Anybody related to Mitch McConnell has to be bad for the country.
#1 I agree but even Republicans nowadays need the diversity card.
Conservatives always love to talk about separation of powers. With the wife of the senate majority leader being a top figure in the executive branch, there would be no checks and balances.
Who knows whats in Trump’s head. McConnell said he doesn’t want Trump’s agendas passed.