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elaine chao
Little Ditty, 'Bout Mitch & Elaine
We recently learned about Elaine's lack of concern for the very same taxpayers that Mitch was so interested in protecting from Biden's profligacy.
Mar 29, 2021
Birds of a feather will flock together.
--Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy
The marvelous thing about Mitch McConnell is that he's unaffected by juxtaposition. Of course it was just a coincidence-his comments about the Biden stimulus package that, he said, uses taxpayer dollars that encourage people not to work, and the Inspector General's report about the activities of McConnell's wife, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, who used taxpayer dollars to help her family in a way that could be said to encourage them not to work. Some people would be embarrassed by the timing of the report. Not Mitch. Consider his comments on the floor of the United States Senate and in interviews with Fox News on the effect the Biden stimulus package would have on the country.
On March 3, 2021, Mitch explained to Martha MacCallum on Fox News, that as a result of the Biden package: "There is a concern about making it more advantageous to stay home rather than going back to work. If we could do it all over again, we-meaning Republicans-may offer an alternative that we think fits the situation. And it's considerably less than $1.9 trillion. . . ." At a press briefing before it was voted on, he described the bill as "wildly expensive" and "largely unrelated to the problem."
Led by Mitch, the Republicans in the Senate, to a man and woman, ever mindful of their taxpaying constituents and the need to protect the taxpayers' dollars and make sure they are appropriately used, on March 6, 2021, voted against the stimulus package sent to them by the House. It was hardly Mitch's fault that three days before the vote took place, and on the same day he was being interviewed on Fox News, we learned of Elaine's lack of concern for the very same taxpayers that Mitch was so interested in protecting from Biden's profligacy.
On March 3, 2021, a report was released by the Transportation Department's inspector general. The report disclosed that during Elaine's tenure as transportation secretary under the trump administration, she used her office staff who were paid by taxpayers, to help her family. Her family has a shipping business that has extensive China ties.
The report that was released on March 3 was preceded by an investigation by the Transportation Department's inspector general into Elaine's conduct while acting as Secretary. Following completion of that investigation in December 2020 the inspector general referred the report to the trump justice department for possible criminal investigation. To no one's surprise, the trump justice department did nothing. Nonetheless, the report was not ignored.
On March 3, 2021, a 44-page report that detailed the results of the investigation into Elaine's conduct as Secretary was delivered to the House. In delivering the report, Mike Behm, the Transportation Department's deputy inspector general said in the letter that accompanied the report that: "A formal investigation into potential misuses of position was warranted."
No formal finding that Elaine violated ethical rules was made but, according to the New York Times that reported the story, the investigators "detailed more than a dozen instances where her office, supported by the taxpayers took steps to handle matters related to her father, who built up a New York-based shipping company . . . ." Elaine did not take the adverse publicity that accompanied the delivery of the report lying down.
When the Inspector General's report was delivered to the House, Elaine's public relations firm issued a statement that said in part: "This report exonerates the secretary from baseless accusations and closes the book on an election-year effort to impugn her history-making career as the first Asian American woman appointed to a president's cabinet and her outstanding record as the longest tenured cabinet member since World War II." (Elaine served as Secretary of Labor under the George W. Bush administration for the full eight years of his presidency.)
Among what the public relations firm described as baseless accusations, were the use of Elaine's staff to arrange details for her father's trip to China in October 2017, using her staff to do chores for her father such as promoting his Chinese-language biography and editing his Wikipedia page for him. The report further observes that in 2018 Elaine had her staff promote her father's appearance "at events at Columbia University, SUNY Maritime College, Lloyd's List, and the Massachusetts Maritime Academy."
Elaine did not respond to questions from the Inspector General. Instead she issued a statement that explained why she had helped her father. She said: "Anyone familiar with Asian culture knows it is a core value in Asian communities to express honor and filial respect toward one's parents. Asian audiences welcome and respond positively to action by the secretary that include her father in activities when appropriate." Readers may decide for themselves whether her filial devotion expiates what many would have considered an abuse of her position and misuse of the taxpayers' dollars.
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Mitch and Elaine Aren't Bothered By Their Own Hypocrisy
Mitch McConnell pretended to care about the appropriate use of taxpayers' dollars while his wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, was fleecing the public.
Mar 28, 2021
Birds of a feather will flock together.
-- Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy
The marvelous thing about Mitch McConnell is that he's unaffected by juxtaposition. Of course it was just a coincidence--his comments about the Biden stimulus package that, he said, uses taxpayer dollars that encourage people not to work, and the Inspector General's report about the activities of McConnell's wife, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, who used taxpayer dollars to help her family in a way that could be said to encourage them not to work. Some people would be embarrassed by the timing of the report. Not Mitch. Consider his comments on the floor of the United States Senate and in interviews with Fox News on the effect the Biden stimulus package would have on the country.
On March 3, 2021, Mitch explained to Martha MacCallum on Fox News, that as a result of the Biden package: "There is a concern about making it more advantageous to stay home rather than going back to work. If we could do it all over again, we--meaning Republicans--may offer an alternative that we think fits the situation. And it's considerably less than $1.9 trillion. . . ." At a press briefing before it was voted on, he described the bill as "wildly expensive" and "largely unrelated to the problem."
Led by Mitch, the Republicans in the Senate, to a man and woman, ever mindful of their taxpaying constituents and the need to protect the taxpayers' dollars and make sure they are appropriately used, on March 6, 2021, voted against the stimulus package sent to them by the House. It was hardly Mitch's fault that three days before the vote took place, and on the same day he was being interviewed on Fox News, we learned of Elaine's lack of concern for the very same taxpayers that Mitch was so interested in protecting from Biden's profligacy.
On March 3, 2021, a report was released by the Transportation Department's inspector general. The report disclosed that during Elaine's tenure as transportation secretary under the trump administration, she used her office staff who were paid by taxpayers, to help her family. Her family has a shipping business that has extensive China ties.
The report that was released on March 3 was preceded by an investigation by the Transportation Department's inspector general into Elaine's conduct while acting as Secretary. Following completion of that investigation in December 2020 the inspector general referred the report to the trump justice department for possible criminal investigation. To no one's surprise, the trump justice department did nothing. Nonetheless, the report was not ignored.
On March 3, 2021, a 44-page report that detailed the results of the investigation into Elaine's conduct as Secretary was delivered to the House. In delivering the report, Mike Behm, the Transportation Department's deputy inspector general said in the letter that accompanied the report that: "A formal investigation into potential misuses of position was warranted."
No formal finding that Elaine violated ethical rules was made but, according to the New York Times that reported the story, the investigators "detailed more than a dozen instances where her office, supported by the taxpayers took steps to handle matters related to her father, who built up a New York-based shipping company . . . ." Elaine did not take the adverse publicity that accompanied the delivery of the report lying down.
When the Inspector General's report was delivered to the House, Elaine's public relations firm issued a statement that said in part: "This report exonerates the secretary from baseless accusations and closes the book on an election-year effort to impugn her history-making career as the first Asian American woman appointed to a president's cabinet and her outstanding record as the longest tenured cabinet member since World War II." (Elaine served as Secretary of Labor under the George W. Bush administration for the full eight years of his presidency.)
Among what the public relations firm described as baseless accusations, were the use of Elaine's staff to arrange details for her father's trip to China in October 2017, using her staff to do chores for her father such as promoting his Chinese-language biography and editing his Wikipedia page for him. The report further observes that in 2018 Elaine had her staff promote her father's appearance "at events at Columbia University, SUNY Maritime College, Lloyd's List, and the Massachusetts Maritime Academy."
Elaine did not respond to questions from the Inspector General. Instead she issued a statement that explained why she had helped her father. She said: "Anyone familiar with Asian culture knows it is a core value in Asian communities to express honor and filial respect toward one's parents. Asian audiences welcome and respond positively to action by the secretary that include her father in activities when appropriate." Readers may decide for themselves whether her filial devotion expiates what many would have considered an abuse of her position and misuse of the taxpayers' dollars.
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Quitting Trump Cabinet Is 'Not Courageous, It's Cowardly,' Say Supporters of 25th Amendment Ouster
"At this late a stage, resignations help little beyond serving as late attempts at self-preservation," argued Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Jan 06, 2021
Progressive lawmakers and advocacy groups on Thursday urged members of President Donald Trump's Cabinet considering resignation following Wednesday's insurrectionist attack on the U.S. Capitol to remain in the administration and invoke the 25th Amendment to remove the president from office.
"The vice president and Cabinet members must invoke the 25th Amendment NOW and remove Trump from office before he incites more violence and chaos."
--Sen. Bernie Sanders
"A number of administration officials are resigning to protest Trump's horrific acts of sedition yesterday," noted Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Twitter. "Not good enough! The vice president and Cabinet members must invoke the 25th Amendment NOW and remove Trump from office before he incites more violence and chaos."
Sanders' remarks came hours after Elaine Chao, Trump's transportation secretary, cited Wednesday's "traumatic and entirely avoidable" attack as she tendered her resignation, explaining the incident "has deeply troubled me in a way that I simply cannot set aside."
Chao, who is also the wife of soon-to-be Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), was the highest-ranking Trump administration official to resign in the wake of what many observers called a domestic terror attack. But she wasn't the only one.
NPR reports Stephanie Grisham, chief of staff to first lady Melania Trump; Sarah Matthews, a deputy press secretary; Mick Mulvaney, the special envoy to Northern Ireland; and Matt Pottinger, the deputy national security adviser, are among those who are quitting over Wednesday's insurrection.
While such resignations may be dressed in a veneer of principle, many progressives say that if they want to make good, Trump officials should remain in his Cabinet and use the 25th Amendment--which allows for the dismissal of a president who is incapacitated, or unable or unwilling to perform their duties--to remove him from office. A group of nearly 100 Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday sent a letter to Vice President Mike Pence to "emphatically urge" him to invoke the constitutional remedy.
"At this late a stage, resignations help little beyond serving as late attempts at self-preservation," argued Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). "If Sec. Chao objects to yesterday's events this deeply, she should be working the Cabinet to invoke the 25th amendment--not abdicating the seat that allows her to do so."
The advocacy group Public Citizen was even more blunt, calling Chao's resignation "the definition of cowardice."
"Chao could have stayed and pushed for the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office," the group tweeted. "Instead, she enabled Trump for four years and jumped ship when her husband's workplace was ransacked. Pathetic."
To those members of Trump's Cabinet who haven't left but are thinking about doing so, Robert Weissman and Lisa Gilbert, respectively Public Citizen president and vice president, sounded a gentler tone:
I am sure you all are profoundly and appropriately disturbed by what occurred yesterday at the Capitol... Many of you may now be considering resigning... While principled resignations would have been appropriate at any other moment in the administration's tenure, that is no longer this case.
Invoking the 25th Amendment in this way is without precedent and should only be done in the most extreme circumstances. But we are now living in those most extreme circumstances. Your country is relying on you to honor your duty to the Constitution and protect us all.
Pence, however, is reportedly unwilling to use his power to invoke the 25th Amendment, according to sources who spoke with Business Insider on Thursday. New York Times correspondent Maggie Haberman confirmed the report.
Another option for holding Trump accountable for the riot he incited--impeachment--appears off the table for now. Despite Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) introducting articles of impeachment against Trump on Thursday for his "attempted coup against our country," Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives--which just 24 hours earlier had been under occupation by a Trumpist mob--saw fit to adjourn until the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden on January 20.
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'Brazen Abuse of Taxpayer Dollars': Katie Porter Accuses Airlines of Using Covid-19 Bailout Funds to Fight Consumer Protections
"Airlines took taxpayer-funded bailout money, then turned around and started lobbying to weaken consumer protections. Is this really their top priority during a pandemic?"
Jul 07, 2020
Rep. Katie Porter is accusing major U.S. airline companies of violating the law by spending Covid-19 bailout funds on a lobbying campaign aimed at weakening passenger protections and rolling back oversight of the air travel industry.
In a letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Elaine Chao on Monday, the California Democrat called the airlines' lobbying effort a "brazen abuse of taxpayer dollars" and demanded penalties for any companies involved.
"Now is not the time to reduce oversight of the airline industry. The airlines have time and time again flouted the limited consumer protections that the DOT currently enforces."
--Rep. Katie Porter
"Spending on an anti-consumer political campaign is an abuse of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic (CARES) Act funding," wrote Porter, referring to the March law that established a $25 billion bailout program specifically for the airline industry.
"Given that the Department of Treasury is tasked with monitoring the airlines' use of taxpayer aid, I ask that you sanction the airlines involved in this lobbying effort," Porter wrote. "I also request that the DOT end the rulemaking process that it began at the behest of the airline industry."
DOT's proposed rule change would narrow the department's definition of "unfair and deceptive practices," a move critics say (pdf) would empower the airline industry to violate consumer protections with impunity. Airlines for America, a trade group representing industry giants like Delta and JetBlue, has lobbied DOT in support of the change.
"Now is not the time to reduce oversight of the airline industry," said Porter, a member of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions. "The airlines have time and time again flouted the limited consumer protections that the DOT currently enforces. As you attested, Secretary Chao, the DOT received an 'unprecedented volume of complaints' in March and April: 25,000, a startling number particularly when compared to the typical monthly average of 1,500."
Porter also called out United Airlines, Delta, and JetBlue for slashing employees' hours even after receiving billions in taxpayer bailout money.
Porter's letter came as lawmakers are urging the airline industry to implement more stringent protections for passangers to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Last week, the Trump administration issued non-binding guidance encouraging--but not requiring--airlines to limit the number of passengers on a single flight and require face masks for everyone on board.
Read the full letter:
Dear Secretary Mnuchin and Secretary Chao:
I write in response to disturbing reports indicating that the major airlines, having benefited from the largest taxpayer-funded bailout in history, are now lobbying the Department of Transportation to weaken existing passenger protections in the airline industry. Spending on an anti-consumer political campaign is an abuse of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic (CARES) Act funding. Given that the Department of Treasury is tasked with monitoring the airlines' use of taxpayer aid, I ask that you sanction the airlines involved in this lobbying effort. I also request that the DOT end the rulemaking process that it began at the behest of the airline industry, as the proposed rule (Docket Number DOT-OST-2019-0182) would weaken enforcement of airline passenger protections.
In March, Congress passed the CARES Act--the largest stimulus package in history. As you know, it was a bipartisan effort and signed into law by President Trump. CARES created a $25 billion airline-specific grant program called the Payroll Support Program (PSP). To qualify for a grant under the PSP, an airline must commit to exclusively using the funds to pay airline employee wages, salaries, and benefits. The four largest carriers in the country--American Airlines Group Inc. (American), Delta Airlines Inc. (Delta), United Airlines Holdings Inc. (United), and Southwest Airlines Co. (Southwest)--received the lion's share of PSP funding: $19.2 billion.
The amount that Congress allocated to the PSP is significantly lower than the $58 billion that the airlines requested. At the time of the CARES Act's passage, the airlines justified their exorbitant appeal by referencing their rapidly declining profit margins. To be sure, passenger traffic is down 94 percent compared to last year.
Given the unquestionably bleak financial outlook for the airline industry, I was stunned by news that these airlines are spending their limited--and taxpayer-subsidized--cash flow to petition the DOT to categorically weaken consumer protection standards by adopting the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)'s unfairness approach. According to FTC Commissioner Chopra, after the FTC adopted its current unfairness standard in 1980, "the number of enforcement actions and rulemakings plummeted, leaving a vacuum that hobbled development of the law." The DOT appears to agree, as in documents describing the proposed rule, it acknowledged that the proposal "could translated into the department performing fewer enforcement and rule-making actions" against airlines and could "lengthen the time needed to complete the actions."
Now is not the time to reduce oversight of the airline industry. The airlines have time and time again flouted the limited consumer protections that the DOT currently enforces. As you attested, Secretary Chao, the DOT received an "unprecedented volume of complaints" in March and April: 25,000, a startling number particularly when compared to the typical monthly average of 1,500. Twice in as many months, the DOT issued warnings to airlines participating in the PSP that have refused to comply with the DOT's Enforcement Notice issued on April 3, 2020. In that Notice, the DOT clearly articulated that the airlines "have an obligation to provide a refund to a ticketed passenger when the carrier cancels or significantly changes the passenger's flight." Yet still, airlines continue to deny passengers--many of them my constituents--the refunds they are owed.
In addition to disregarding the DOT's Enforcement Notice, the airlines have also blatantly violated the explicit terms of the PSP. I joined my colleague Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky in writing to you, Secretary Mnuchin, on May 26 to ask that you sanction the airlines that have recently cut their employees' hours, pay, and benefits. United, Delta, and JetBlue Airways have all unilaterally cut workers' hours, in some cases significantly decreasing these employees' pay and benefits. The airlines have defended the cuts by drawing a dishonest distinction between hours and "compensation," as the latter must be preserved per the terms of the CARES Act.
Given their brazen abuse of taxpayer dollars and repeated violations of agency-imposed consumer protection rules and statutory obligations alike, I ask that the Department of the Treasury direct the airlines to immediately cease their lobbying efforts aimed at watering down passenger protection standards. Additionally, I request that the Department of Transportation end the rulemaking process associated with the Proposed Rule "Defining Unfair or Deceptive Practices" (Docket Number DOT-OST-2019-0182.) I hope to receive your response no later than July 15.
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Trump Just Removed the IG Investigating Elaine Chao. Chao's Husband, Mitch McConnell, Already Vetted the Replacement.
The President’s attack on inspector general independence at the Department of Transportation deserves just as much public scrutiny as all the rest.
May 20, 2020
In yet another assault on checks and balances, President Trump abruptly removed the Department of Transportation's (DOT) independent watchdog late Friday - the same night he announced plans to fire the State Department Inspector General (IG). At DOT, the acting IG was overseeing a high profile investigation of Secretary Chao's alleged favoritism benefiting her husband Senator Mitch McConnell's political prospects, but has now been replaced with a political appointee from within the agency. The acting IG's ouster calls into question the future of the Chao-McConnell investigation, other critical oversight, and whether the watchdog was dismissed for unearthing damaging information.
This move is the latest salvo of Trump's assault on oversight.
This move is the latest salvo of Trump's assault on oversight. And it looks like the President made sure to cover all his bases to block accountability, not only nominating an IG to succeed the experienced watchdog who held the post, but also demoting the acting IG who was investigating Chao, and installing a political appointee to serve in his place while the Senate considers a permanent replacement. To make matters worse, Trump's pick to be the new acting IG, Howard "Skip" Elliott, already has a job overseeing the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), an office he will now also be in charge of policing.
Trump's decision to sideline DOT acting IG Mitch Behm (who has 17 years of experience with OIG) was lost in the shuffle of outrage following the announcement that Trump planned to fire the State Department IG, but potential conflicts of interest abound. The most high profile is the DOT OIG's review of allegations that Secretary Chao gave Senator McConnell's constituents special treatment and helped steer millions of federal dollars to Kentucky as he is facing low approval ratings and a tough reelection bid.
As Senate Majority Leader, McConnell was integral to the Senate's consideration of Howard Elliott's nomination to lead PHMSA. Now McConnell will also be instrumental to Eric Soskin's potential confirmation as permanent IG. Soskin is a Justice Department trial lawyer "involved in some hot-button immigration and civil rights cases." These moves will leave oversight of the Chao-McConnell investigation in the hands of Trump administration officials who McConnell has effectively endorsed. In the case of Ellinott, as Secretary, Chao maintains authority to fire him from PHMSA. As CREW has pointed out before, this situation poses a huge conflict of interest. How can the American people expect transparency and accountability when the watchdogs must pass a loyalty test from the President and be approved by officials impacted by their investigations?
In addition to the role new acting IG Elliott will play overseeing the Chao-McConnell investigation, a DOT spokesperson explained that Elliott "will continue to serve as leader of the pipeline agency under a dual-hat arrangement." As a result, Elliott will potentially oversee audits or investigations into PHMSA, and be responsible for ensuring that the administrator of PHMSA (him) complies with recommendations made by OIG (led by him). It's hard to understate the significance of this conflict of interest. Even if Elliott recuses from OIG matters related to PHMSA, which he absolutely should do, he can still discipline or fire OIG officials working for him, if he doesn't like or agree with their handling of the Chao-McConnell investigation or PHMSA.The new acting DOT IG will also play a critical role in overseeing the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has drawn significant scrutiny from the President.
Inspectors General are meant to be apolitical and independent, so they do not typically come from among an administration's pool of political appointees. But Elliott's appointment is not the first time the Trump administration has sought to install a political appointee as an acting IG amid high profile investigations. In 2018, the administration abruptly moved a political appointee from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to serve as the acting IG for the Interior Department, overseeing multiple investigations into then-Secretary Ryan Zinke's conduct. The Washington Post called the move "an unusual choice for a role that is traditionally nonpartisan." Thankfully, public pressure led the administration to reverse course on a number of controversial acting IG appointments.
The President's attack on inspector general independence at DOT deserves just as much public scrutiny as all the rest. It is no coincidence that an experienced and independent watchdog was sidelined while carrying out an investigation into alleged political corruption involving the Transportation Secretary and Trump's chief enabler in the Senate, Leader McConnell. The administration's Friday night announcements appear to be designed to keep us from taking notice. It is incumbent upon Congress, the public, and the good government community not to let President Trump get away with it yet again.
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Bezos Event: Billionaires, Trump, Journalists
"This town, man."
Jan 26, 2020
A party in Washington, D.C. on Saturday night hosted by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos featured a who's-who of Trump administration officials, billionaires, and journalists--leading observers to note the "class solidarity" on display between members of the American ruling elite.
" Democracy dies at Jeff Bezos' house," tweeted journalist Dan Froomkin.
The Bezos party came after the Alfalfa Club annual dinner at Cafe Milano in Washington, a yearly event that on Saturday honored Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah). Romney brought actor Ben Stiller to the party as a guest; both men were also seen arriving at the Bezos party after the event.
Also in attendance at the party were a number of current and former officials in President Donald Trump's White House. The president's daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, both advisers to the president, Transportation Secretary and wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Elaine Chao, White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, former Trump administration Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, and former National Security deputy adviser Dina Powell were all at the event at Bezos' $23 million D.C. mansion.
The administration officials were joined by a number of wealthy executives and billionaires. Beyond Bezos, the party featured Microsoft founder Bill Gates, JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon, Bridgewater Associates co-CEO David McCormick, billionaire businessman David Rubenstein, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, AOL founder Steve Case, and others.
Kushner's closeness to Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who is widely believed to have been behind the October 2, 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Kashoggi, was noted by Matt Duss, foreign policy adviser to the 2020 Democratic presidential campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Bezos owns the Post.
"A couple weeks ago Jeff Bezos was tweeting pics from Jamal Khashoggi's memorial," said Duss. "Over the weekend he had Khashoggi's murderer's buddy Jared Kushner over for a party
"This town, man," added Duss.
Members of the media, including CBS Evening News anchor Norah O'Donnell, Politico founder Robert Allbritton, and Good Morning America correspondent Claire Shipman, were guests of Bezos. Former President Barack Obama's Press Secretary Jay Carney and former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan also attended the party.
Such a concentration of elite wealth and power, tweeted Crooked Media's Brian Beutler, appeared tailor-made for a campaign ad for the 2020 Democratic presidential candidacies of Sanders and Sen. Sanders and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
"Very strange of Jeff Bezos to make such a huge in-kind donation to the Sanders and Warren campaigns," said Beutler.
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Ethics Watchdogs Sound Alarm After Transportation Secretary Chao Delivers Major Federal Contract to Husband Mitch McConnell's Kentucky
"Chao's corruption has gone unchecked for too long."
Dec 16, 2019
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao is under fire from progressives and ethics watchdogs after reporting from Politico Tuesday revealed she helped deliver a $67 million federal contract to her husband Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's home state of Kentucky.
Kyle Herrig, president of the anti-corruption group Accountable.US, said the contract--the largest of its kind delivered to Kentucky during the three years President Donald Trump has been in office--is just the latest example of Chao's behavior that warrants a serious look.
"The unending stream of stories that detail the depth of Secretary Elaine Chao's improper use of taxpayer dollars to boost her husband Mitch McConnell's political career is alarming," Herrig said in a statement. "This type of political corruption is a threat to our democracy and destroys Americans' faith in government."
"Chao's corruption has gone unchecked for too long," Herrig added. "It's time for House Oversight to expand its investigation to encompass her department's unethical favoritism towards Kentucky in order to help her husband's political career. Enough is enough."
As The American Independent reports, Chao's alleged favoritism toward her husband is under review by the Government Accountability Office.
Tuesday's controversy revolves around a contract given to Kentucky's northern Boone County by Chao's office.
According to Politico, the county was among 42 applicants given extra time to fill in deficiencies in its submission, time not given to 55 other incomplete applications:
Moreover, emails obtained by Politico show that Boone County officials were in contact with Chao's aide Todd Inman, a former McConnell campaign staffer known to offer extra guidance to Kentuckians with business before the secretary.
"It really invites skepticism, and it raises questions about the integrity of the process and ultimately the decisions that are made," Susan Fleming, director of GAO's physical infrastructure team, told Politico. "Are these decisions driven by merit? Or are they driven by other factors?"
To a number of observers, the answer to Fleming's question appeared clear: the latter. Progressives noted polling showing a tough re-election fight for McConnell and wondered if Chao is funnelling federal projects to Kentucky to help her husband.
"Normally, what you see is people who don't really like Mitch McConnell very much and are skeptical of him have chosen to pull the lever for him anyway," Kentucky Democrats deputy executive director Marisa McNee told Politico of the senator's unpopularity. "I think what we're seeing in northern Kentucky is a willingness to walk away from that Republican label that we haven't seen in a long time."
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Citing Previous 'Misstatements of Fact' and Corruption Allegations, House Democrats Open Ethics Probe into Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao
Letter to the secretary references "troubling questions about whether you are using office to benefit yourself and your family."
Sep 16, 2019
U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao is the target of a new investigation by House Democrats who are trying to determine whether the powerful member of Trump's cabinet, and the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, has abused her position in order to provide financial or other benefits to members of her family and herself.
House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), who chairs the subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, sent a joint letter (pdf) to Chao on Monday requesting documents and explaining the nature of their probe.
"The Committee," Cummings and Krishnamoorthi wrote, "is examining your misstatements of fact, your actions that may have benefited the company in which you continued to hold shares, and your compliance with ethics and financial disclosure requirements." The letter cites specific incidents and "troubling questions about whether you are using office to benefit yourself and your family."
According to a statement from the Oversight Committee:
Several reports indicate that Chao has used her official position to benefit Foremost Group, a shipping company owned by her father and sisters, and to increase its influence and status with the Chinese government, which has extended hundreds of millions of dollars in low-interest loans to the company for the purchase of foreign-flagged ships.
Chao reportedly appeared alongside her father, the founder of Foremost Group, in at least a dozen Chinese media interviews--many of which were behind the official seal of the Department of Transportation. Chao's father touted her influence within the United States government and boasted about his access to President Trump on Air Force One.
In addition to questions about Foremost, Chao also came under fire earlier this year when it was revealed she had failed to divest from Vulcan, a major asphalt company that, as Common Dreams reported in May, clearly presented the appearance of a conflict of interest.
As The Hill reports Monday:
The Oversight Committee requested that Chao provide by Sept. 30 all internal government communications about Foremost Group and Vulcan; her canceled Oct. 2017 trip to China and an official trip to China in April 2018; her annual Public Financial Disclosure reports; and whether she has used a personal email address to communicate with her family or Foremost Group employees about official Transportation Department business.
A spokeperson from Chao's office at the Transportation Department dismissed the accusation of corruption as "media attacks," but said the department would cooperate with the request for documents.
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