Elaine Chao (26 March 1953-) was US Secretary of Labor (R) from 29 January 2001 to 20 January 2009, succeeding Alexis Herman and preceding Hilda Solis, and Secretary of Transportation from 31 January 2017 to 11 January 2021, succeeding Anthony Foxx and preceding Pete Buttigieg.
Biography[]
Elaine Chao was born on 26 March 1953 in Taipei, Taiwan, and her family moved to the United States in 1961. She gained a Master of Business Administration degree from the Harvard School of Law in 1979, and she worked as a banker at Bank of America and Citicorp for years. From 1988 to 1989, she served on the Federal Maritime Committee, and she was also involved with the Peace Corps.
Chao in an interview with World Journal
Chao became a US Republican Party politician, and she married Mitch McConnell, a Republican senator who would later become Senate Majority Leader; in 2001, Chao herself was appointed Secretary of Labor under President George W. Bush. Her reputation was besmirched by two mine accidents that left fifteen people dead, but she was known for her activism with Asian-Americans and with senatorial spouses. On 29 November 2016, President Donald Trump nominated her as his Secretary of Transportation, and she took office on 31 January 2017 with 93 votes approving and 6 opposing. She announced her resignation on 7 January 2021, protesting Trump's culpability in the 2021 United States coup d'etat attempt.