Elaine Chao

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Angela Chao, Shipping Chief With Close Ties to China, Dies

Foremost Group chief executive was Mitch McConnell's sister-in-law

(Newser) - Angela Chao, who ran a family shipping company and was a sister of former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, was killed Sunday in a car accident in Texas. She was the chair and chief executive of Foremost Group, an operator of bulk carrier ships with deep ties to China, the New ...

McConnell Goes After Trump With Mention of His Own Wife

Senate minority leader brings up Elaine Chao in pushback at former president's immigrant remarks

(Newser) - Last weekend, former President Trump ramped up his attacks on immigrants at a New Hampshire rally, asserting they're "poisoning the blood of our country." Trump is now getting pushback on his rhetoric from both sides of the aisle, including from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a fellow...

Elaine Chao: Media Shouldn't Repeat Trump's 'Racist Taunt'

'He says all sorts of outrageous things, and I don’t make a point of answering any one of them'

(Newser) - Elaine Chao says she's not going to respond to former President Trump's attacks on her and husband Mitch McConnell—and it would be "helpful" if the media stopped repeating Trump's " racist taunt ." Chao served as transportation secretary in the Trump administration but resigned after...

Trump Says McConnell Has 'Death Wish,' Insults His Wife

Former president uses racial slur against Elaine Chao in social media post

(Newser) - The longtime Donald Trump-Mitch McConnell feud reached new levels on Friday after a social media post by the former president. Per CNN , a stopgap funding bill to prevent a government shutdown, with funds also allocated for aid to Ukraine and disaster relief, passed the Senate and House on Thursday and...

Ethics Investigation Into Elaine Chao Cites Concerns

Transportation Department's inspector general releases report

(Newser) - Elaine Chao, Mitch McConnell's wife and the transportation secretary under former President Trump, allegedly used her position to assist family members and used DoT employees to run personal errands, according to a report released Wednesday by the Transportation Department's inspector general. The ethics investigation began after the New ...

Elaine Chao Is First Cabinet Member to Resign

Transportation secretary Elaine Chao cites Wednesday's riots in DC

(Newser) - The biggest White House official yet is resigning after Wednesday's violence at the Capitol. The Washington Post reports that Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao is stepping down, the first Cabinet official to do so. Chao also is the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. CNN's Kaitlan Collins tweets...

US Bars All Flights Into Cuba, With One Exception

Planes from United States can only go into Havana in new travel ban

(Newser) - If you'd planned to travel to Cuba, you still can—but only one of the country's 10 main airports will be open starting next month. Per CBS News , at the direction of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the US has banned all flights to the island nation, save...

'Cocaine Mitch' Wants You to Join His 'Cartel'

He's selling campaign T-shirts with cocaine dust

(Newser) - Mitch McConnell is embracing the "Cocaine Mitch" nickname given to him last year, going so far as to sell T-shirts featuring a faceless man (ostensibly McConnell) beside a dusting of white powder. "A year ago, a legend was born. Own your piece of history. #CocaineMitch," McConnell's...

McConnell 'Loved' Watching Wife Confront Protesters

'I've got one tough wife,' Senate majority leader says

(Newser) - Mitch McConnell says he told his wife to keep her head down in the face of immigration protesters, but was "proud" when she instead told them, "Why don't you just leave my husband alone?" Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao "ignored my advice and went right up to...

'Leave My Husband Alone,' Chao Tells Student Protesters

'Why is he separating familes?' they ask her

(Newser) - Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was targeted by protesters when he left an event at Georgetown University on Monday night—but his wife, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, was there to stick up for him. "Why don't you just leave my husband alone?" Chao said to protesters who approached...

Trump, McConnell Aren't Speaking After Angry Call

Elaine Chao: 'I stand by my man—both of them'

(Newser) - President Trump and Mitch McConnell have taken potshots at each other in public of late, but that's nothing compared to what's going on in private, reports the New York Times . A lengthy story describes their relations as of the "Cold War" variety, and it says the two...

Senate Sends Elaine Chao to Trump's Cabinet, 93-6

President's pick for transportation secretary sails through nomination

(Newser) - Republicans might be telling Democrats to "stop acting like idiots" in boycotting votes on some of President Trump's Cabinet picks, but it's been smooth sailing for one nominee: Elaine Chao will be the next secretary of Transportation after the Senate resoundingly confirmed her Tuesday on a 93-6...

Senate Confirms Trump Pick for UN Ambassador

Nikki Haley approved by 96-4 vote

(Newser) - The Senate confirmed President Trump's pick for US ambassador to the United Nations by a decisive margin Tuesday as GOP-led committees paved the way for three more of his Cabinet nominees to be approved just days into the new administration, the AP reports. South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley won...

Arizona Drafts Own Worker Bills
 Arizona Drafts Own Worker Bills 

Arizona Drafts Own Worker Bills

State aims to make temporary labor faster, easier; measure could be national model

(Newser) - Arizona is working on its own guest-worker program, hoping to supply state farmers with labor—and serve as a model for the rest of the country in the process, the Christian Science Monitor reports. But though top lawmakers are behind the measure, getting permission from the federal government—whose own...

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