Editing Elaine Chao

{{Short description|American government official (born 1953)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Elaine Chao
| image               = Elaine Chao official portrait 2 (a).jpg
| caption             = Official portrait, 2019
| order               = 18th
| office              = United States Secretary of Transportation
| president           = [[Donald Trump]]
| deputy              = [[Jeffrey A. Rosen]] <br> [[Steven G. Bradbury]] (acting)
| term_start          = January 31, 2017
| term_end            = January 11, 2021
| successor           = [[Pete Buttigieg]]
| predecessor         = [[Anthony Foxx]]
| office2             = 24th [[United States Secretary of Labor]]
| president2          = [[George W. Bush]]
| term_start2         = January 29, 2001
| term_end2           = January 20, 2009
| predecessor2        = [[Alexis Herman]]
| successor2          = [[Hilda Solis]]
| office3             = 12th [[Peace Corps#Leadership|Director of the Peace Corps]]
| president3          = [[George H. W. Bush]]
| term_start3         = October 8, 1991
| term_end3           = November 13, 1992
| predecessor3        = [[Paul Coverdell]]
| successor3          = [[Carol Bellamy]]
| office4             = 4th [[United States Deputy Secretary of Transportation]]
| president4          = George H. W. Bush
| term_start4         = April 19, 1989
| term_end4           = October 18, 1991<ref>{{cite book|last=Whitnah|first=Donald Robert|date=1998|title=U.S. Department of Transportation: A Reference History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=07AcQT2VUbcC&dq=busey+deputy+secretary+of+transportation+1992&pg=PA165|page=165|publisher=Greenwood Press|isbn=9780313283406|access-date=February 5, 2022|archive-date=January 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127000110/https://books.google.com/books?id=07AcQT2VUbcC&dq=busey+deputy+secretary+of+transportation+1992&pg=PA165|url-status=live}}</ref>
| predecessor4        = [[Mimi Weyforth Dawson]]
| successor4          = [[James B. Busey IV]]
| office5             = Chair of the [[Federal Maritime Commission]]
| president5          = [[Ronald Reagan]]<br />George H. W. Bush
| term_start5         = April 29, 1988
| term_end5           = April 19, 1989
| predecessor5        = Edward Hickey
| successor5          = [[James J. Carey]]
| office6             = [[Federal Maritime Commission#List of former commissioners|Commissioner of the Federal Maritime Commission]]
| president6          = Ronald Reagan<br />George H. W. Bush
| term_start6         = April 29, 1988
| term_end6           = April 19, 1989
| predecessor6        = Edward Hickey
| successor6          = Ming Hsu
| birth_name          = Elaine Lan Chao
| birth_date          = {{Birth date and age|1953|3|26}}
| birth_place         = [[Taipei]], Taiwan
| citizenship         = {{plainlist|
* Taiwan<ref>{{cite web |last=Winkler |first=Sigrid |url=https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/taiwans-un-dilemma-to-be-or-not-to-be/ |title=Taiwan's UN Dilemma: To Be or Not To Be |publisher=[[Brookings Institution]] |date=June 20, 2012 |access-date=February 16, 2022 |archive-date=March 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200331180632/https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/taiwans-un-dilemma-to-be-or-not-to-be/ |url-status=live }}</ref><br>(until 1971)
* United States (1972–present)
}}
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| party               = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| parents             = [[James S. C. Chao]]<br />[[Ruth Mulan Chu Chao|Ruth Mulan Chu]]
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[Mitch McConnell]]|1993}}
| education           = {{nowrap|[[Mount Holyoke College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])}}<br />[[Dartmouth College]]<br />[[Harvard University]] ([[MBA]])
| module              = {{Infobox Chinese
| child  = yes
|t       = 趙小蘭
|s       = 赵小兰
|p       = Zhào Xiǎolán
|w       = {{tonesup|Chao4 Hsiao3-lan2}}
|myr     = Chau Syaulan
|mi      = {{IPAc-cmn|zh|ao|4|-|x|iao|3|.|l|an|2}}
|j       = Ziu<sup>6</sup> Siu<sup>2</sup> Laan<sup>4</sup>}}
| module2             = {{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=Elaine Chao thanks truckers during the Covid-19 Pandemic.ogg|title=Elaine Chao's voice|type=speech|description=Elaine Chao thanks truckers during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]<br/>Recorded April 30, 2020}}
| relations           = [[Angela Chao]] (sister)
| website             = {{URL|https://elainechao.com/}}
}}
'''Elaine Lan Chao''' (born March 26, 1953) is an American businesswoman and former government official who served as [[United States secretary of labor]] in the [[George W. Bush administration|administration]] of [[George W. Bush]] from 2001 to 2009 and as [[United States secretary of transportation]] in the [[First presidency of Donald Trump|first administration]] of [[Donald Trump]] from 2017 to 2021. A member of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]], Chao was the first [[Asian American]] woman to serve in a [[Cabinet of the United States|presidential cabinet]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=March 8, 2017 |title=50 Women Who Made American Political History |url=https://time.com/4551817/50-women-political-history-2/ |access-date=June 28, 2023 |magazine=Time |language=en |archive-date=June 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230628220922/https://time.com/4551817/50-women-political-history/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Transition |first1=Center for Presidential |last2=mpruce |date=May 20, 2021 |title=Prominent Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Who Have Served in the Federal Government |url=https://presidentialtransition.org/blog/prominent-asian-americans-and-pacific-islanders-who-have-served/ |access-date=June 28, 2023 |website=Center for Presidential Transition |language=en-US |archive-date=June 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230628221041/https://presidentialtransition.org/blog/prominent-asian-americans-and-pacific-islanders-who-have-served/ |url-status=live }}</ref> She resigned as transportation secretary after the [[January 6 United States Capitol attack]].

Chao was born in [[Taipei]], [[Taiwan]], to ''[[waishengren]]'' parents who fled China as a result of the [[Chinese Civil War]]. She immigrated to the United States when she was eight years old. Her father founded the [[Foremost Group]], an American shipping company based in New York. Chao was raised in [[Queens, New York]], and on [[Long Island]], and received degrees from [[Mount Holyoke College]] and [[Harvard Business School]]. She worked for financial institutions before being appointed to senior positions in the [[United States Department of Transportation|Department of Transportation]] under Presidents [[Ronald Reagan]] and [[George H. W. Bush]], including chair of the [[Federal Maritime Commission]] (1988–1989) and [[Deputy Secretary of Transportation]] (1989–1991). She served as director of the [[Peace Corps]] from 1991 to 1992 and as president of the [[United Way of America]] from 1993 to 1996. 

Chao has served on several ''Fortune'' 500 and nonprofit [[boards of directors]], including the electric charger network provider [[ChargePoint]] since 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |author=aftermarketNews Staff |date=December 3, 2021 |title=Elaine L. Chao Joins ChargePoint Board of Directors |url=https://www.aftermarketnews.com/elaine-chao-joins-chargepoint-board-of-directors/ |access-date=July 24, 2023 |website=aftermarketNews |language=en-US |archive-date=July 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724141123/https://www.aftermarketnews.com/elaine-chao-joins-chargepoint-board-of-directors/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=The Trucker News |date=August 27, 2021 |title=Former transportation secretary Chao joins board of directors at Hyliion |url=https://www.thetrucker.com/trucking-news/business/former-transportation-secretary-chao-joins-board-of-directors-at-hyliion |access-date=July 24, 2023 |website=TheTrucker.com |language=en-US |archive-date=July 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724141125/https://www.thetrucker.com/trucking-news/business/former-transportation-secretary-chao-joins-board-of-directors-at-hyliion |url-status=live }}</ref> She is married to U.S. senator [[Mitch McConnell]].

==Early life and education==
[[File:Elaine Chao in 1971 Red 'n' White.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Chao in [[Syosset High School]]'s yearbook]]
Elaine Chao was born in [[Taipei]], [[Taiwan]], on March 26, 1953, and immigrated to the United States when she was eight years old. She is the eldest of six daughters of [[Ruth Mulan Chu Chao]], a historian from [[Anhui]], and [[James S. C. Chao]], a [[Shanghainese]] businessman who began his career as a [[merchant mariner]] and in 1964 founded the shipping company Foremost Maritime Corporation in New York City, which developed into the [[Foremost Group]]. In 1961, at the age of 8, Chao came to the United States on a 37-day freight ship journey along with her mother and two younger sisters. Her father had arrived in New York three years earlier and sent money home until the rest of the family could join him in the United States.<ref name="FTV" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.theforemostfoundation.org/dr-james-sc-chao|title=Dr. James S.C. Chao|work=The Foremost Foundation|access-date=March 26, 2017|archive-date=March 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320190315/http://www.theforemostfoundation.org/dr-james-sc-chao|url-status=live}}</ref>

Chao described her early life in America as a typical immigrant story, noting that "everything was foreign to us: the culture, people, language, traditions, and even the food."<ref name="Flynn-2014">{{Cite web |last=Flynn |first=Anneguard |date=November 6, 2014 |title=Woman in red dress with Mitch McConnell: Elaine Chao, wife, former labor secretary, and Mount Holyoke graduate |url=https://www.masslive.com/news/2014/11/woman_in_red_dress_with_mitch_mcconnell_elaine_chao_wife_former_labor_secretary_and_mount_holyoke_graduate.html |access-date=July 3, 2023 |website=masslive |language=en |archive-date=July 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230703075231/https://www.masslive.com/news/2014/11/woman_in_red_dress_with_mitch_mcconnell_elaine_chao_wife_former_labor_secretary_and_mount_holyoke_graduate.html |url-status=live }}</ref> She spoke no English upon her arrival.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Elaine L. Chao, Secretary of Labor |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/government/chao-bio.html |access-date=July 3, 2023 |website=georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov |archive-date=October 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026231939/https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/government/chao-bio.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Her father "worked three jobs" to support the family and the then-five family members lived in a one-bedroom apartment.<ref name="Flynn-2014" />

Chao attended Tsai Hsing Elementary School in Taiwan for [[kindergarten]] and first grade.<ref name="FTV">{{cite news |url=http://englishnews.ftv.com.tw/Read.aspx?sno=872DAC79D979C24117BD465F0BFD2A5F |title=First Taiwan-born US Cabinet member revisits her roots on Taipei visit |work=[[FTV News|Formosa Television News]] |date=November 14, 2014 |access-date=November 29, 2016 |archive-date=August 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810170609/http://englishnews.ftv.com.tw/Read.aspx?sno=872DAC79D979C24117BD465F0BFD2A5F |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[http://www.thsh.tp.edu.tw/CustomerSet/191_introduce/more_editor_v.asp?id={3DE70D72-7EEB-4218-9B8F-7328D2AE7B6A}&intid=266 惜福感恩、追求卓越的人生典範──傑出校友趙小蘭女士] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170328061019/http://www.thsh.tp.edu.tw/CustomerSet/191_introduce/more_editor_v.asp?id=%7B3DE70D72-7EEB-4218-9B8F-7328D2AE7B6A%7D&intid=266 |date=March 28, 2017 }}, [[:zh:臺北市私立再興高級中學|Tsai-Hsing High School]], 2016/10/14</ref> She attended [[Syosset High School]] in [[Syosset, New York]], in [[Nassau County, New York|Nassau County]] on [[Long Island]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/12/us/woman-washington-veteran-for-labor-tested-negotiator-for-trade-elaine-lan-chao.html|title=Woman in the News; A Washington Veteran for Labor; a Tested Negotiator for Trade; Elaine Lan Chao|first=Christopher|last=Marquis|work=The New York Times|date=January 12, 2001|access-date=February 15, 2017|archive-date=September 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200913015955/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/12/us/woman-washington-veteran-for-labor-tested-negotiator-for-trade-elaine-lan-chao.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and was [[naturalized U.S. citizen|naturalized]] as a U.S. citizen at the age of 19.<ref>{{cite web|title=Biography|url=http://www.elainelchao.com/biography/|website=Elainechao.com|access-date=July 23, 2017|archive-date=July 26, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120726211823/http://www.elainelchao.com/biography/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Chao received a Bachelor of Arts degree in [[Economics]] from [[Mount Holyoke College]] in [[South Hadley, Massachusetts]]. In the second semester of her junior year, she studied money and banking at [[Dartmouth College]]. She received an [[MBA]] degree from [[Harvard Business School]].

==Career==
===Early career===
Before being appointed to government work, Chao was a vice president for [[Syndicated loan|syndications]] at [[Bank of America]] Capital Markets Group in San Francisco, and she was an international banker at [[Citicorp]] in New York.<ref name=bb>{{cite web |title=Elaine L. Chao |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=558041&ticker=NWSA&previousCapId=172899&previousTitle=CIGNA%20CORP |website=Bloomberg Business |access-date=February 18, 2015 |archive-date=February 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222025725/http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=558041&ticker=NWSA&previousCapId=172899&previousTitle=CIGNA%20CORP |url-status=live }}</ref> She was granted a [[White House Fellowship]] during the [[Reagan Administration]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Appointment of the 1983–1984 White House Fellows|url=https://www.reaganlibrary.archives.gov/archives/speeches/1983/52583d.htm|publisher=Reagan Library|access-date=March 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170322014400/https://www.reaganlibrary.archives.gov/archives/speeches/1983/52583d.htm|archive-date=March 22, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management - Secretary Elaine Chao Presents Awards at the 2005 Honor Awards Ceremony - DPLA - 7b912d5460eb9375a48628bd13d33f48 (page 287) (cropped).jpg|thumb|Chao in 2005]]
In 1986, Chao became Deputy Administrator of the [[United States Maritime Administration|Maritime Administration]] in the [[U.S. Department of Transportation]]. From 1988 to 1989, she served as chairwoman of the [[Federal Maritime Commission]].<ref name=bio>{{Cite news |url=http://www.biography.com/people/elaine-l-chao-214142#synopsis |title=Elaine L. Chao Biography |publisher=[[FYI (U.S. TV channel)|Bio.]] |access-date=September 9, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141221034347/http://www.biography.com/people/elaine-l-chao-214142#synopsis |archive-date=December 21, 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1989, then-president George H.W. Bush nominated Chao to be Deputy Secretary of Transportation; she served from 1989 to 1991.<ref name="picks" /> From 1991 to 1992, she was the director of the Peace Corps.<ref name=bio/> She was the first [[Asian American]] to serve in any of these positions. She expanded the Peace Corps' presence in Eastern Europe and Central Asia by establishing the first Peace Corps programs in [[Poland]], [[Latvia]], [[Lithuania]], [[Estonia]], and the newly independent states of the former [[Soviet Union]], including the first Peace Corps programs in Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia and Russia.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/1991/1001/01072.html|title=Peace Corps Enters the '90s Invited into Eastern Europe|last=Shillinger|first=Kurt|date=October 1, 1991|work=The Christian Science Monitor|access-date=March 26, 2017|issn=0882-7729|archive-date=February 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224171400/https://www.csmonitor.com/1991/1001/01072.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.deseret.com/1991/11/7/18950291/peace-corps-plans-to-send-volunteers-to-baltics-in-1992/|title=PEACE CORPS PLANS TO SEND VOLUNTEERS TO BALTICS IN 1992|date=November 7, 1991|work=DeseretNews.com|access-date=March 26, 2017|language=en|archive-date=August 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180824120248/https://www.deseretnews.com/article/192371/PEACE-CORPS-PLANS-TO-SEND-VOLUNTEERS-TO-BALTICS-IN-1992.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Between Bush administrations===
Following her service in President George H.W. Bush's administration, Chao worked from 1992 to 1996 as president and CEO of United Way of America.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Elaine-Chao-Leaves-United-Way/168461|title=Elaine Chao Leaves United Way|date=May 30, 1996|work=The Chronicle of Philanthropy|access-date=March 26, 2017|archive-date=July 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730230304/https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Elaine-Chao-Leaves-United-Way/168461|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://secure.unitedway.org/pages/history|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170327081858/https://secure.unitedway.org/pages/history|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 27, 2017|title=History {{!}} United Way|website=secure.unitedway.org|language=en|access-date=March 26, 2017}}</ref> She was the first Asian American to hold that role. She is credited with returning credibility and public trust to the organization after a financial mismanagement scandal involving former president [[William Aramony]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Associated Press |date=November 15, 2011 |title=William Aramony dies at 84; United Way chief executive |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-william-aramony-20111115-story.html |access-date=July 24, 2023 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US |archive-date=January 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126235948/https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-william-aramony-20111115-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> From 1996 until her appointment as Secretary of Labor, Chao worked at a [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] [[think tank]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.biography.com/people/elaine-l-chao-214142|title=Elaine L. Chao|website=Biography|language=en-us|access-date=March 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141221034347/http://www.biography.com/people/elaine-l-chao-214142|archive-date=December 21, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> She was also a board member of the [[Independent Women's Forum]].<ref name="ronnee">{{cite book | last1=Schreiber | first1=Ronnee | chapter=Pro-Women, Pro-Palin, Antifeminist: Conservative Women and Conservative Movement Politics | editor1-last=Aberbach | editor1-first=Joel D. | editor2-last=Peele | editor2-first=Gillian | title=Crisis of Conservatism?: The Republican Party, the Conservative Movement, and American Politics After Bush | date=2011 | publisher=Oxford University Press | location=Oxford | isbn=9780199764020 | page=135 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1hribbv8dCYC | access-date=February 18, 2015 | archive-date=January 27, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127000115/https://books.google.com/books?id=1hribbv8dCYC | url-status=live }}</ref> She later returned to think tanks after leaving the government in January 2009.<ref name="know">{{Cite news|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2016/1129/What-you-should-know-about-Elaine-Chao-Trump-s-pick-for-transportation|title=What you should know about Elaine Chao, Trump's pick for transportation|last=Hoover|first=Amanda|date=November 29, 2016|work=The Christian Science Monitor|access-date=March 26, 2017|issn=0882-7729|archive-date=November 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108132502/https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2016/1129/What-you-should-know-about-Elaine-Chao-Trump-s-pick-for-transportation|url-status=live}}</ref>

Chao delivered a speech at the [[2000 Republican National Convention]].<ref>{{cite web |title=THE REPUBLICANS: PERSONALITIES AND IMAGES; Worth Watching |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/31/us/the-republicans-personalities-and-images-worth-watching.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=April 28, 2023 |date=July 31, 2000 |archive-date=April 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230428053617/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/31/us/the-republicans-personalities-and-images-worth-watching.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===U.S. Secretary of Labor (2001–2009)===
[[File:Elaine Chao large.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Official Secretary of Labor photo]]

Chao was the only cabinet member in the [[George W. Bush administration]] to serve for the entirety of his eight years.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/2629/2199903.html |title= Chao becomes fifth-longest-serving Secretary of Labor |work= Peace Corps Online |access-date= December 21, 2007 |archive-date= September 30, 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070930023900/http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/2629/2199903.html |url-status= live }}</ref> She was also the longest-serving Secretary of Labor since [[Frances Perkins]], who served from 1933 to 1945 under President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]].<ref>{{cite web|title=US Department of Labor History|url=http://www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/history/dpt.htm|access-date=September 16, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120709205219/http://www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/history/dpt.htm|archive-date=July 9, 2012}}</ref>  Chao was unanimously confirmed by the Senate for her appointment as Secretary of Labor.<ref>{{cite news |title=Chao confirmed by unanimous consent motion – January 29, 2001 |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/stories/01/29/chao.confirmed/ |access-date=August 5, 2023 |work=CNN |archive-date=August 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230805071949/https://edition.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/stories/01/29/chao.confirmed/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Of Chao's staff, [[Victoria Lipnic]], Assistant Secretary for Employment Standards Administration, later became Member, EEOC and acting chair.

In 2004, the department issued revisions of the white-collar overtime regulations under the [[Fair Labor Standards Act]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/21/us/labor-dept-revises-plans-to-cut-overtime-eligibility.html|title=Labor Dept. Revises Plans To Cut Overtime Eligibility|last=Greenhouse|first=Steven|date=April 21, 2004|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 27, 2017|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210323191556/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/21/us/labor-dept-revises-plans-to-cut-overtime-eligibility.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Union disclosure requirements====
In 2002, a major West Coast ports dispute costing the U.S. economy nearly $1{{spaces}}billion daily was resolved when the Bush administration obtained a national emergency [[injunction]] against both the employers and the union under the [[Taft–Hartley Act]] for the first time since 1971.<ref>{{cite news | author1=David E. Sanger | author2=Steven Greenhouse | title=President Invokes Taft-Hartley Act to Open 29 Ports | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/09/us/president-invokes-taft-hartley-act-to-open-29-ports.html?pagewanted=all | work=The New York Times | date=October 9, 2002 | access-date=February 15, 2017 | archive-date=March 9, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309220244/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/09/us/president-invokes-taft-hartley-act-to-open-29-ports.html?pagewanted=all | url-status=live }}</ref> Led by Chao, in 2003, for the first time in more than 40 years, the department updated the labor union financial disclosure regulations under the [[Landrum–Griffin Act]] of 1959, which created more extensive disclosure requirements for union-sponsored pension plans and other trusts to prevent embezzlement or other financial mismanagement.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://nlpc.org/2008/10/20/labor-department-issues-final-rule-union-trusts/|title=Labor Department Issues Final Rule for Union Trusts|last=Horowitz|first=Carl|date=October 20, 2008|website=National Legal & Policy Center|access-date=March 27, 2017|archive-date=March 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170327171206/http://nlpc.org/2008/10/20/labor-department-issues-final-rule-union-trusts/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Response to 9/11, Hurricane Katrina====
Following the [[terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001]], Chao's Department of Labor disbursed grants to provide temporary jobs to assist in cleanup and restoration efforts in New York, as well as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's monitoring of health and safety of [[Rescue and recovery effort after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center|cleanup work]] being performed at the disaster sites including lower Manhattan. The department also provided unemployment insurance and income support to those who lost their jobs in the aftermath of September 11.<ref>{{cite web |title=Federal Response: Examples of Government Action Since September 11 (Text Only) |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/10/text/20011003.html |website=georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov |access-date=May 2, 2023 |archive-date=May 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230502075145/https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/10/text/20011003.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="MassTransit"/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Minock |first=Nick |date=September 11, 2021 |title='We were so innocent': Longest serving cabinet member since WWII reflects on 9/11 attacks |url=https://wjla.com/news/september-11th-20th-anniversary/we-were-so-innocent-longest-serving-cabinet-member-since-wwii-reflects-on-911-attacks |access-date=July 24, 2023 |website=WJLA |language=en |archive-date=July 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724141124/https://wjla.com/news/september-11th-20th-anniversary/we-were-so-innocent-longest-serving-cabinet-member-since-wwii-reflects-on-911-attacks |url-status=live }}</ref>

Following the 2005 hurricane season, which included hurricanes [[Hurricane Katrina|Katrina]], [[Hurricane Rita|Rita]] and [[Hurricane Wilma|Wilma]], the Labor Department disbursed nearly $380 million in grants to assist with cleanup work and provide benefits and services to those displaced by the storms. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration and other agencies deployed personnel to the region to provide safety training and uphold workers' rights. Chao set up an emergency response hotline dedicated to the Gulf Coast region for people seeking benefits and worker protection information.<ref name="MassTransit">{{cite web |title=Q&A with Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao |url=https://www.masstransitmag.com/management/article/21150166/qa-with-secretary-of-transportation-elaine-chao |website=masstransitmag.com |date=August 18, 2020 |access-date=May 2, 2023 |archive-date=September 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927015250/https://www.masstransitmag.com/management/article/21150166/qa-with-secretary-of-transportation-elaine-chao |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=OSHA Steps Up to Help Workers Responding to Hurricane Katrina |url=https://www.ehstoday.com/archive/article/21908108/osha-steps-up-to-help-workers-responding-to-hurricane-katrina |website=ehstoday.com |date=September 2005 |access-date=May 2, 2023 |archive-date=January 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127000024/https://www.ehstoday.com/archive/article/21908108/osha-steps-up-to-help-workers-responding-to-hurricane-katrina |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Government Accountability Office reports====
After analyzing 70,000 closed case files from 2005 to 2007, the [[Government Accountability Office]] reported that the Department's [[Wage and Hour Division]] (WHD) inadequately investigated complaints from low- and [[Minimum wage in the United States|minimum-wage]] workers alleging that employers failed to pay the [[Minimum wage in the United States|federal minimum wage]], required overtime, and failed to issue a last paycheck.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08973t.pdf |title= GAO Case Studies from Ongoing Work Show Examples in Which Wage and Hour Division Did Not Adequately Pursue Labor Violations – Statement of Gregory D. Kutz, Managing Director Forensic Audits and Special Investigations |date= July 15, 2008 |access-date= August 12, 2009 |archive-date= August 27, 2009 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090827130640/http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08973t.pdf |url-status= dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Shields|first1=Todd|last2=Jacobs|first2=Jennifer|last3=Dlouhy|first3=Jennifer|title=Transport Pick Chao Gets Conservatives' Praise, Labor Criticism|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-11-29/former-labor-secretary-chao-said-to-lead-transportation-agency|access-date=January 26, 2017|publisher=Bloomberg Politics|date=November 29, 2016|archive-date=February 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202021415/https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-11-29/former-labor-secretary-chao-said-to-lead-transportation-agency|url-status=live}}</ref> The Department of Labor responded that the GAO investigation focused on individual complaints while the department remained focused on resolving complex and multi-employee complaints; from 1997 to 2007 the annual number of employees receiving back wages as a result of DOL action almost doubled and the dollar amount of back wages paid more than doubled.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Greenhouse |first=Steven |date=July 15, 2008 |title=Department Is Criticized on Disputes Over Wages |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/washington/15labor.html |access-date=July 24, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724141122/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/washington/15labor.html |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[The Washington Post]]'' echoed that Chao's department was criticized by some for "walking away from its regulatory function" but also praised by others for providing "compliance assistance" and "helping companies abide by the law" rather than "punitive enforcement that … stifles economic growth."<ref name="Fletcher" />

A 2008 [[Government Accountability Office]] report noted that the Labor Department gave Congress inaccurate numbers which understated the expense of contracting out its employees' work to private firms during Chao's tenure, which may have affected 22 employees at the department.<ref name="WashP">{{cite news |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/24/AR2008112402796.html |author= Carol D. Leonnig |title= GAO Report Says Labor Department Misled Congress on Cost of Outsourcing Jobs |newspaper= The Washington Post |date= November 25, 2008 |access-date= February 4, 2012 |archive-date= November 7, 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121107132732/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/24/AR2008112402796.html |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0914.pdf | title = Better Cost Assessments and Departmentwide Performance Tracking Are Needed to Effectively Manage Competitive Sourcing Program | date = November 2008 | access-date = February 4, 2012 | archive-date = May 26, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120526075630/http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0914.pdf | url-status = dead}}</ref>

====Mining regulation====
Chao and the Bush administration proposed quadrupling the fines imposed against mining corporations for mine safety breaches and sued mine operators for failing to maintain safe working conditions.<ref>{{cite news |title=White House promises mine disaster investigation |url=https://www.gainesville.com/story/news/2006/01/04/white-house-promises-mine-disaster-investigation/31470923007/ |access-date=August 5, 2023 |work=Gainesville Sun |archive-date=January 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126235946/https://www.gainesville.com/story/news/2006/01/04/white-house-promises-mine-disaster-investigation/31470923007/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A 2007 report by the department's [[Office of Inspector General]] (OIG) found that mine safety regulators did not conduct federally required inspections at more than one in seven of the country's 731 underground coal mines in 2006, and that the number of worker deaths in mining accidents more than doubled to 47 in that year.<ref name="hsu">{{cite news|last=Hsu|first=Spencer|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/16/AR2007111602257.html|title=Report Faults Mine Safety|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=November 17, 2007|access-date=June 13, 2019|archive-date=September 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200901150532/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/16/AR2007111602257.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Fletcher">{{cite news|last=Fletcher|first=Michael A.|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/30/AR2008113001900.html|title=Labor Dept. Accused of Straying From Enforcement|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=December 1, 2008|access-date=February 4, 2012|archive-date=March 30, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330050055/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/30/AR2008113001900.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oig.dol.gov/public/reports/oa/2008/05-08-001-06-001.pdf|title=Underground coal mine inspection mandate not fulfilled due to resource limitations and lack of management emphasis (Report Number: 05-08-001-06-001)|date=November 16, 2007|access-date=June 13, 2019|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308144052/https://www.oig.dol.gov/public/reports/oa/2008/05-08-001-06-001.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) "missed 147 inspections at 107 mines employing a total of 7,500 workers".<ref name="hsu"/>

Mining disasters in 2006 and 2007 included West Virginia's [[Sago Mine disaster|Sago Mine explosion]], which killed 12 in January 2006;<ref name="hsu"/> West Virginia's [[Aracoma Alma Mine accident|Alma Mine fire]], which killed two in January 2006;<ref name="victory">{{cite news|last=Jenkins|first=Jeff|url=http://wvmetronews.com/2013/02/05/court-victory-for-aracoma-widows/|title=Court victory for Aracoma widows|website=MetroNews|date=February 5, 2015|access-date=June 13, 2019|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308030018/https://wvmetronews.com/2013/02/05/court-victory-for-aracoma-widows/|url-status=live}}</ref> the [[Darby Mine No. 1 disaster|Darby Mine No.{{spaces}}1 explosion]] in Kentucky, where five miners died in May 2006;<ref name="hsu"/> and the [[Crandall Canyon Mine|Crandall Canyon Mine collapse]] in Utah, which killed six workers and three rescuers in August 2007.<ref name="hsu"/> Immediately following the Sago mine disaster, Secretary Chao vowed to "take the necessary steps to ensure that this never happens again".<ref>{{cite web |title=White House promises mine disaster investigation |url=https://www.gainesville.com/story/news/2006/01/04/white-house-promises-mine-disaster-investigation/31470923007/ |website=Gainesville Sun |access-date=May 2, 2023 |archive-date=January 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126235946/https://www.gainesville.com/story/news/2006/01/04/white-house-promises-mine-disaster-investigation/31470923007/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2010, the widows of the two men killed in the Alma Mine fire sued the federal government for wrongful death, citing lack of inspections, failure to act against violations, and conflicts of interest.<ref>{{cite news|last=McCue|first=Dan|url=https://www.courthousenews.com/widows-blame-lax-fed-for-coal-mine-deaths/|title=Widows Blame Lax Fed for Coal Mine Deaths|date=May 3, 2010|access-date=June 13, 2019|archive-date=December 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228074457/https://www.courthousenews.com/widows-blame-lax-fed-for-coal-mine-deaths/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="jj140929">{{cite news|last=Jenkins|first=Jeff|url=http://wvmetronews.com/2014/09/29/settlement-approved-in-aracoma-mine-disaster/|title=Settlement approved in Aracoma mine disaster|website=MetroNews|date=September 29, 2014|access-date=June 13, 2019|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308183845/https://wvmetronews.com/2014/09/29/settlement-approved-in-aracoma-mine-disaster/|url-status=live}}</ref> "MSHA's review of the fire acknowledged significant lapses by inspectors, supervisors and district managers" at the mine but the agency did not admit liability for the negligent inspections.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://arlweb.msha.gov/Fatals/2006/Aracoma/FTL06c1415.pdf|title=Report of Investigation Fatal Underground Coal Mine Fire|date=2007|access-date=June 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160512203205/http://arlweb.msha.gov/Fatals/2006/Aracoma/FTL06c1415.pdf|archive-date=May 12, 2016}}</ref><ref name="MSAH_settles">{{cite news|url=https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2014/07/18/335217.htm|title=Mine Safety Agency Settles with 2 West Virginia Miners' Widows|website=Insurance Journal|date=July 18, 2014|access-date=June 13, 2019|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308045704/https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2014/07/18/335217.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2013, the appeals court ruled that MSHA can be held liable "when a negligent inspection results in the wrongful death of a coal miner".<ref name="MSAH_settles"/> The suit was settled in 2014; MSHA also agreed to develop a training course on preventing fires in underground mines.<ref name="jj140929"/><ref name="MSAH_settles"/>

====Workplace safety====
During her tenure, the Department of Labor achieved "record low worker injury, illness and fatality rates; record back wages recovered; [and] record monetary recoveries for workers’ pension plans".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mall |first1=Scott |title=FreightWaves Classics/Leaders: Chao broke barriers leading federal departments |url=https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-classicsleaders-elaine-chao-broke-barriers-and-led-accomplishments |website=FreightWaves |date=May 26, 2022 |access-date=May 2, 2023 |archive-date=May 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230502075155/https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-classicsleaders-elaine-chao-broke-barriers-and-led-accomplishments |url-status=live }}</ref> A 2009 internal audit appraising an [[Occupational Safety and Health Administration]] (OSHA) initiative focusing on problematic workplaces for the past six years stated that employees had failed to gather needed data, conducted uneven inspections and enforcement, and failed to discern repeat fatalities because records misspelled the companies' names or failed to notice when two subsidiaries with the same owner were involved; it also noted that after rules changes in January 2008 the number of targeted companies declined by almost half.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/01/AR2009040103939.html |title=Initiative On Worker Safety Gets Poor Marks: IG's Report Links Weak Enforcement To Job Fatalities |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=April 2, 2009 |access-date=February 4, 2012 |first=R. Jeffrey |last=Smith |archive-date=November 8, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108155803/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/01/AR2009040103939.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Post-Bush administration (2009–2017)===
In 2009, Chao resumed her previous role at a think tank,<ref name="know" /> and she contributed to [[Fox News]] and other media outlets.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/2016/11/29/85d42438-b64b-11e6-a677-b608fbb3aaf6_story.html|title=Trump picks Elaine L. Chao for transportation secretary|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=March 27, 2017|archive-date=March 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170327173142/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/2016/11/29/85d42438-b64b-11e6-a677-b608fbb3aaf6_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

She also served as a director on a number of corporate and non-profit boards,<ref name=bb/><ref name=cepr>{{cite web|title=Elaine Chao: Director of the Day|url=http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/director-watch/elaine-chao|website=Center for Economic and Policy Research|access-date=February 18, 2015 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140719072314/http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/director-watch/elaine-chao|archive-date=July 19, 2014}}</ref> including the [[Harvard Institute of Politics|Institute of Politics]] at [[Harvard Kennedy School]], [[Wells Fargo]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Elaine L. Chao, director since 2011 |url=https://www.wellsfargo.com/about/corporate/boardofdirectors/chao|website=Wells Fargo|access-date=February 18, 2015|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150310004319/https://www.wellsfargo.com/about/corporate/boardofdirectors/chao|archive-date=March 10, 2015}}</ref> [[New York–Presbyterian Hospital]], [[News Corp]], [[Dole Food Company]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://investors.dole.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=231558&p=irol-govBio&ID=196144|title=Dole &#124; Company Info &#124; Biography |publisher=Dole|access-date=February 4, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120712154659/http://investors.dole.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=231558&p=irol-govBio&ID=196144|archive-date=July 12, 2012}}</ref> and [[Protective Life Corporation]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.protective.com/about-us/board-of-directors.aspx |title=Protective Life: Board of Directors |publisher=Protective Life |access-date=February 4, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226113141/http://www.protective.com/about-us/board-of-directors.aspx|archive-date=February 26, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.gyro.com/#/igniting-now/news/bush-cabinet-member-will-advise-gyro | title= Bush Cabinet Member Will Advise Gyro | publisher= Gyro | access-date= February 4, 2012 | archive-date= January 25, 2021 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210125054153/https://www.gyro.com/#/igniting-now/news/bush-cabinet-member-will-advise-gyro | url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Rick |last=Segal |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/gyro/2011/10/27/cmos-explore-work-life-balance-and-brands |title=CMOs Explore Work-Life Balance and Brands |work=[[Forbes]] |date=October 27, 2011 |access-date=February 4, 2012 |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308101615/https://www.forbes.com/sites/gyro/2011/10/27/cmos-explore-work-life-balance-and-brands/ |url-status=live }}</ref> According to financial disclosure forms, Chao was slated to receive $1–5{{spaces}}million as compensation for her service on the board of Wells Fargo.<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Olen|first1=Helaine|title=Elaine Chao Will Have a Second Income Source When She's Transportation Secretary: Millions From Wells Fargo|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2017/01/17/elaine_chao_will_get_millions_from_wells_fargo.html|access-date=August 3, 2017|magazine=Slate|date=January 17, 2017|archive-date=October 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181007115126/http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2017/01/17/elaine_chao_will_get_millions_from_wells_fargo.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In June 2011, she was awarded the [[Woodrow Wilson Award]] for Public Service.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://legacy.wilsoncenter.org/awards/index.cfm?groupid=A5DC6B2D-ECA5-E29D-967AFF94067BE0FB&fuseaction=Welcome.welcome&id=4EB9BFCC-9AE1-F50A-A39FA0185BA2673D |title=Louisville 2011 Woodrow Wilson Awards |publisher=Wilson Center |date=June 24, 2011 |access-date=February 4, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120712084030/http://legacy.wilsoncenter.org/awards/index.cfm?groupid=A5DC6B2D-ECA5-E29D-967AFF94067BE0FB&fuseaction=Welcome.welcome&id=4EB9BFCC-9AE1-F50A-A39FA0185BA2673D |archive-date=July 12, 2012}}</ref>

In January 2015, she resigned from the board of [[Bloomberg Philanthropies]], which she had joined in 2012,<ref>{{cite news | title= Bloomberg Family Foundation Announces Four New Board Members | url= http://www.mikebloomberg.com/index.cfm?objectid=831FF5A3-C29C-7CA2-F0A365AB715C98FE | work= Bloomberg Philanthropies | date= April 5, 2012 | url-status= dead | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150218183559/http://www.mikebloomberg.com/index.cfm?objectid=831FF5A3-C29C-7CA2-F0A365AB715C98FE | archive-date= February 18, 2015}}</ref> because of its plans to significantly increase support for the [[Sierra Club]]'s "[[Beyond Coal]]" initiative.<ref>{{cite news |last1 = Youngman |first1 = Sam |title = Elaine Chao resigns from Bloomberg board as it increases 'Beyond Coal' investments |url = http://www.kentucky.com/2015/01/21/3652848/elaine-chao-resigns-from-bloomberg.html |work = [[Lexington Herald-Leader]] |date = January 21, 2015 |access-date = February 18, 2015 |archive-date = March 25, 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150325094259/http://www.kentucky.com/2015/01/21/3652848/elaine-chao-resigns-from-bloomberg.html |url-status = live }}</ref>

In February 2017, the [[Associated Press]] reported that Chao was paid by a speaker's bureau to give a speech regarding women's empowerment to an organization later found to be linked to the [[People's Mujahedin of Iran]] (aka Mojahedin-e Khalq or MEK), a group exiled from Iran after actions in the 1970s against the Shah of Iran and the Ayatollah Khomeini.  Similar speeches were delivered by former Joint Chiefs of Staff General [[Hugh Shelton]], Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps General [[James T. Conway]], former National Security Advisor General [[James L. Jones]], former CIA Directors [[Porter Goss]] and [[James Woolsey]], former FBI Director [[Louis Freeh]], former [[NYC]] Mayor [[Rudy Giuliani]], and former Governors [[Howard Dean]] of Vermont and [[Ed Rendell]] of Pennsylvania.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mek-lobbying_n_913233 |title=Dozens Of Former U.S. Officials Make Millions Advocating For Terrorist Organization |first=Christina |last=Wilkie |date=August 8, 2011 |website=HuffPost |access-date=November 7, 2020 |archive-date=April 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210404152510/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mek-lobbying_n_913233 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/f8cd86c1a6de470781c8b5f37ef70f5f/trump-cabinet-pick-paid-cult-iranian-exile-group |title=Trump Cabinet pick paid by 'cult-like' Iranian exile group |last=Gambrell |first=Jon |date=February 5, 2017 |website=[[ap.org]] |access-date=February 5, 2017 |archive-date=February 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205104852/http://www.bigstory.ap.org/article/f8cd86c1a6de470781c8b5f37ef70f5f/trump-cabinet-pick-paid-cult-iranian-exile-group |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===U.S. Secretary of Transportation (2017–2021)===
[[File:Elaine Chao at confirmation hearing.jpg|thumb|Chao at her confirmation hearing to be Secretary of Transportation]]
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced on November 29, 2016, that he would nominate Chao to be Secretary of Transportation.<ref name="picks">{{Cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/29/politics/trump-picks-elaine-chao-for-transportation-secretary/index.html|title=Trump picks Elaine Chao for transportation secretary|first1=Phil|last1=Mattingly|first2=David|last2=Wright|work=CNN|date=November 29, 2016|access-date=November 29, 2016|archive-date=June 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629074448/https://www.cnn.com/2016/11/29/politics/trump-picks-elaine-chao-for-transportation-secretary/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The U.S. Senate confirmed Chao on January 31, 2017, by a vote of 93–6, with her husband, then-Senate majority leader [[Mitch McConnell]], abstaining.<ref name="TransportVote">{{Cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=115&session=1&vote=00035|title=US Senate Roll Call Vote PN35|date=January 31, 2017|website=United States Senate|access-date=January 31, 2017|archive-date=June 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629022248/https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=115&session=1&vote=00035|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="The New York Times 2017">{{cite web | title=Elaine Chao Gets Cozy Reception at Confirmation Hearing | website=The New York Times | date=January 11, 2017 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/11/us/politics/elaine-chao-confirmation-hearing-transportation.html | access-date=April 7, 2020 | archive-date=November 12, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112020415/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/11/us/politics/elaine-chao-confirmation-hearing-transportation.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

As Secretary of Transportation, Chao led the presidential delegation to the enthronement ceremony for [[Naruhito|Japanese emperor Naruhito]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=October 5, 2019 |title=U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao to attend enthronement ceremony |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/10/05/national/u-s-transportation-secretary-elaine-chao-attend-enthronement-ceremony/ |access-date=May 13, 2023 |website=The Japan Times |language=en-US |archive-date=May 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230513040107/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/10/05/national/u-s-transportation-secretary-elaine-chao-attend-enthronement-ceremony/ |url-status=live }}</ref> She led the U.S. delegation to the inauguration of Indonesia's President [[Joko Widodo]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Indonesia's popular president to be sworn in for final term |url=https://www.ny1.com/nyc/brooklyn/ap-top-news/2019/10/20/indonesias-popular-president-to-be-sworn-in-for-final-term |access-date=May 13, 2023 |website=ny1.com |language=en |archive-date=May 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230513051619/https://www.ny1.com/nyc/brooklyn/ap-top-news/2019/10/20/indonesias-popular-president-to-be-sworn-in-for-final-term |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Resignation following January 6====

On January 7, 2021, the day after the [[January 6 United States Capitol attack]], Chao submitted her resignation effective January 11, 2021. She was then the highest-ranking member of the administration to resign due to the riots and the first cabinet officer to do so; her resignation cited the "traumatic and entirely avoidable" violence and stated that it "deeply troubled" her.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wise |first=Alana |title=Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao Resigns, Citing Violence At Capitol |website=[[NPR]] |date=January 7, 2021 |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/insurrection-at-the-capitol/2021/01/07/954495552/transportation-secretary-elaine-chao-to-resign-citing-violence-at-capitol |access-date=May 13, 2023 |archive-date=May 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230513040108/https://www.npr.org/sections/insurrection-at-the-capitol/2021/01/07/954495552/transportation-secretary-elaine-chao-to-resign-citing-violence-at-capitol |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Gangitano |first=Alex |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/533316-chao-resignation-letter-to-trump-but-after-yesterdays-events-at-the |title=Chao letter to Trump cites Wednesday's 'events at the US Capitol' as reason for resignation |work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]] |date=January 8, 2021 |access-date=January 12, 2021 |archive-date=January 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112000607/https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/533316-chao-resignation-letter-to-trump-but-after-yesterdays-events-at-the |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Drone technology====
In 2017, Chao announced the establishment of a pilot program to test and evaluate the integration of civil and public drone operations into the airspace system.<ref name="Commercial UAV News 2017">{{cite web | title=Federal DOT Announces a New Pilot Initiative to Expedite Integration of Manned and Unmanned Aircraft | website=Commercial UAV News | date=November 10, 2017 | url=https://www.commercialuavnews.com/construction/dot-announces-new-drone-pilot-initiative | access-date=April 2, 2020 | archive-date=April 7, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407144738/https://www.commercialuavnews.com/construction/dot-announces-new-drone-pilot-initiative | url-status=live }}</ref> In 2018 ten applicants were selected to participate in the project.<ref name="Avionics 2018">{{cite web | title=DOT Selects 10 Participants for Nationwide Drone Integration Pilot Program | website=Avionics | date=May 11, 2018 | url=https://www.aviationtoday.com/2018/05/11/dot-selects-10-participants-nation-wide-drone-integration-pilot-program/ | access-date=April 2, 2020 | archive-date=April 7, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407144749/https://www.aviationtoday.com/2018/05/11/dot-selects-10-participants-nation-wide-drone-integration-pilot-program/ | url-status=live }}</ref> In 2019, the [[Federal Aviation Administration]] (FAA) issued an air carrier and operator certificate to [[UPS Flight Forward]] for drone deliveries to a hospital campus in Raleigh, North Carolina.<ref name="CBS News 2019">{{cite web | title=UPS delivery drones approved by government | website=CBS News | date=October 2, 2019 | url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ups-delivery-drones-approved-by-government/ | access-date=April 3, 2020 | archive-date=March 4, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200304154711/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ups-delivery-drones-approved-by-government/ | url-status=live }}</ref> In December 2019, after multiple reports in Colorado and Nebraska of unidentified objects flying in formation at night over several remote rural counties, the FAA proposed a new rule that would require drones to be remotely identifiable.<ref name="Condon 2020">{{cite web | last=Condon | first=Stephanie | title=CES 2020: Citing "mystery drones," US Transportation Secretary advocates new rules | website=ZDNet | date=January 9, 2020 | url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/ces-2020-citing-mystery-drones-us-transportation-secretary-advocates-new-rules/ | access-date=April 3, 2020 | archive-date=March 17, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200317041421/https://www.zdnet.com/article/ces-2020-citing-mystery-drones-us-transportation-secretary-advocates-new-rules/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Jeffrey A. Rosen]] chaired Chao's New and Emerging Technologies Council (NETT)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.engadget.com/2019-03-12-hyperloop-self-driving-cars-tunneling-dot-council.html|title=US DOT forms council to support emerging transportation tech|website=Engadget|date=March 12, 2019 }}</ref> Chao and Rosen led DOTs efforts to safely enable the use of drones in the airspace, including in FAA's drone pilot program.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.engadget.com/faa-testing-drone-detecting-technologies-airports-005842365.html|title=The FAA will test drone detecting technologies in airports this year|website=Engadget|date=August 23, 2020 }}</ref> The DOT under Chao issued updated guidelines on automated or "self-driving" cars and trucks.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-infrastructure-chao-idUKKCN1BN2I1|title=U.S. official backs voluntary rules for self-driving cars|first=Joseph|last=White|newspaper=Reuters|date=September 12, 2017|via=www.reuters.com}}</ref> He also helped with FAA's successful efforts to reform its regulations and restore the US lead in enabling the largest number of private commercial space launches.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Space Council acts to streamline regulations, encourage commercial missions |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/space-council-acts-to-streamline-regulatory-process/ |access-date=2023-02-14 |website=www.cbsnews.com |date=February 21, 2018 |language=en-US}}</ref>

Under Chao, Rosen served as Chair of DOT's Regulatory Reform Task Force.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gillis |first=Chris |date=2019-03-02 |title=Rosen to lead USDOT Regulatory Reform Task Force |url=https://www.freightwaves.com/news/rosen-to-lead-usdot-regulatory-reform-task-force |access-date=2023-02-14 |website=FreightWaves |language=en-US}}</ref> He and Chao focused on improving the infrastructure permitting process, and reforming the regulatory system to reduce costs.<ref>{{Cite web |title=New USDOT rules would speed up project permitting |url=https://www.constructiondive.com/news/new-usdot-rules-would-speed-up-project-permitting/562463/ |access-date=2023-02-14 |website=Construction Dive |language=en-US}}</ref>

==== COVID-19 responses ====
In May 2020, following the start of the [[COVID-19 outbreak]] and related changes to travel, Chao sternly warned airlines to follow their published ticket refund procedures, as well as DOT regulations, in light of high demand for travel changes.<ref name="Josephs-2020">{{Cite web |last=Josephs |first=Leslie |date=May 12, 2020 |title=DOT again warns airlines over ticket refunds after 'unprecedented' surge in complaints during pandemic |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/12/coronavirus-travel-complaints-about-airline-refunds-jumps-as-travelers-seek-cash-not-vouchers.html |access-date=June 7, 2023 |website=CNBC |language=en |archive-date=June 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230607083021/https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/12/coronavirus-travel-complaints-about-airline-refunds-jumps-as-travelers-seek-cash-not-vouchers.html |url-status=live }}</ref> She demanded airlines provide cash refunds (as opposed to vouchers) when required by law, and urged them to provide cash refunds as broadly as possible.<ref name="Josephs-2020" />

Chao later announced the disbursement of $1.2 billion in grants to airports to maintain readiness for when passenger travel returned. The funds were distributed to 405 airports for infrastructure and safety improvements, such as improved runway lighting.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Angeline |first=Jillian |date=September 1, 2020 |title=Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao awards more than $1B to airports across the country |url=https://www.whsv.com/2020/09/01/transportation-secretary-elaine-chao-awards-more-than-1b-to-airports-across-the-country/ |access-date=June 7, 2023 |website=WHSV-3 News |language=en |archive-date=June 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230607081519/https://www.whsv.com/2020/09/01/transportation-secretary-elaine-chao-awards-more-than-1b-to-airports-across-the-country/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Eight tribal governments were also awarded separate transportation funds to maintain infrastructure during COVID.<ref>{{Cite web |title=U.S. Transportation Secretary Chao: Approximately $1.2 million to 8 tribal governments for COVID-19 response |url=https://www.wnypapers.com/news/article/current/2020/08/28/143022/u.s.-transportation-secretary-chao-approximately-1.2-million-to-8-tribal-governments-for-covid-19-response |access-date=August 12, 2023 |website=Niagara Frontier Publications |archive-date=August 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230812085012/https://www.wnypapers.com/news/article/current/2020/08/28/143022/u.s.-transportation-secretary-chao-approximately-1.2-million-to-8-tribal-governments-for-covid-19-response |url-status=live }}</ref>

Chao also worked to permit truckers to deliver essential goods to New York City, which had been attempting to impose a 14-day quarantine on out-of-state truckers bringing goods into the city. The city dropped the requirement following federal government pressure.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 8, 2020 |title=Elaine Chao: Long-Term Plan Needed for US Infrastructure |url=https://www.ttnews.com/articles/elaine-chao-says-highway-trust-fund-extension-will-help-infrastructure |access-date=October 10, 2023 |website=Transport Topics |language=en |archive-date=April 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422120823/https://www.ttnews.com/articles/elaine-chao-says-highway-trust-fund-extension-will-help-infrastructure |url-status=live }}</ref> Her department also worked with state governments to maintain access to highway rest areas, including permitting food trucks to provide hot food to truckers and travelers.

The CARES Act enabled the Department of Transportation to make $114 billion of federal aid available for the transportation sector.  The largest allocation was $25 billion to support local public transit systems, of which $22.7 billion was dedicated to large and small urban areas and the remaining $2.2 billion for rural areas. The Act also made available $10 billion for grants to commercial and general aviation airports for capital expenditures, operating expenses such as payroll and utilities, and debt payments; and a $1.02 billion allocation for grants to Amtrak to cover lost revenues, buy fuel and construction materials, and maintain its route network. The CARES Act also enabled the department to provide assistance to the aviation sector through loans and loan guarantees and grants for worker and contractor pay and benefits.<ref>{{Cite web |title=COVID-19 Stimulus Funding for Transportation in the CARES Act and other Supplemental Bills |url=https://data.bts.gov/stories/s/COVID-19-Stimulus-Funding-for-Transportation-in-th/2cyr-4k8j/ |access-date=August 12, 2023 |website=data.bts.gov |language=en |archive-date=August 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230812085017/https://data.bts.gov/stories/s/COVID-19-Stimulus-Funding-for-Transportation-in-th/2cyr-4k8j/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Other proposals====
In March 2019, Chao announced the formation of the Non-Traditional and Emerging Transportation Technology (NETT) Council, an internal Department of Transportation group for identifying "jurisdictional and regulatory gaps" when considering new transportation technologies.<ref name="Laris 2019">{{cite news | last=Laris | first=Michael | title=Elon Musk's latest plan: Two 35-mile tunnels from D.C. to Baltimore | newspaper=The Washington Post | date=April 18, 2019 | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2019/04/18/elon-musks-latest-plan-two-mile-tunnels-dc-baltimore/ | access-date=March 31, 2020 | archive-date=August 1, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190801082939/https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2019/04/18/elon-musks-latest-plan-two-mile-tunnels-dc-baltimore/ | url-status=live }}</ref> In April 2019, the FAA released proposed new regulations to modernize the rules for commercial space flight launches and reentries. At a congressional hearing in July 2019, the president of the [[Commercial Spaceflight Federation]] criticized the proposal as not delivering on its stated goals.<ref>{{cite web | last=Smith | first=Marcia | title=CSF's Stallmer slams FAA's proposed commercial space regulations | website=SpacePolicyOnline.com | date=July 25, 2018 | url=https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/csfs-stallmer-slams-faas-proposed-commercial-space-regulations/ | access-date=April 15, 2020 | archive-date=July 30, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730230314/https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/csfs-stallmer-slams-faas-proposed-commercial-space-regulations/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

In October 2019, Chao launched the Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic Success (ROUTES) initiative, intended to improve rural transportation infrastructure.  It sought to achieve this goal by developing tools and information, aggregating DOT resources, and providing technical assistance. The program is intended to consider the unique needs of rural transportation networks to meet national goals of safety, mobility, and economic competitiveness.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 10, 2019 |title=USDOT Targets Infrastructure Needs in Rural Areas |url=https://www.ttnews.com/articles/usdot-targets-infrastructure-needs-rural-areas |access-date=August 12, 2023 |website=Transport Topics |language=en |archive-date=August 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230812085011/https://www.ttnews.com/articles/usdot-targets-infrastructure-needs-rural-areas |url-status=live }}</ref>

The US Department of Transportation reportedly sought to cut funding and loan guarantees for domestic American shipping companies, shipyards, and shipbuilders. These proposed budget cuts were rejected by Congress.<ref name="bridge">{{Cite news |last1=Forsythe |first1=Michael |last2=Lipton |first2=Eric |last3=Bradsher |first3=Keith |last4=Wee |first4=Sui-Lee |date=June 2, 2019 |title=A 'Bridge' to China, and Her Family's Business, in the Trump Cabinet |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/02/us/politics/elaine-chao-china.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210402123647/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/02/us/politics/elaine-chao-china.html |archive-date=April 2, 2021 |access-date=June 3, 2019 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Chao's Department also sought for three years to prevent funding for a program that supports the viability of small domestic US shipyards, and a separate program that issues loan guarantees for the construction or reconstruction of ships with American registration.<ref name="bridge" />

==== Controversies ====
In 2013, liberal SuperPAC Progress Kentucky tweeted about Mitch McConnell's "Chinese wife" and alleged that she is why "your job moved to China." The tweets were removed following an investigation by NPR that noted Chao was a U.S. citizen, was born in Taiwan, and that the PAC had failed to file required disclosures.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Memmott |first=Mark |date=February 26, 2013 |title=Liberal SuperPAC Under Fire For Tweets About McConnell's 'Chinese' Wife |website=[[NPR]] |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2013/02/26/172987819/liberal-super-pac-under-fire-for-tweets-about-mcconnells-chinese-wife |access-date=August 12, 2023 |archive-date=August 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230812085519/https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2013/02/26/172987819/liberal-super-pac-under-fire-for-tweets-about-mcconnells-chinese-wife |url-status=live }}</ref> A similar message by a Kentucky Democrat in 2014 claimed that Chao "isn't from KY [Kentucky], she is Asian." An apology was issued by the Kentucky Democratic Party.<ref>{{Cite web |title=NKY Dem's tweet draws fire |url=https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2014/08/04/nky-dems-tweet-draws-fire/13571755/ |access-date=August 12, 2023 |work=[[The Enquirer]] |archive-date=August 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230812085010/https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2014/08/04/nky-dems-tweet-draws-fire/13571755/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2021 Chao spoke publicly against incidents of anti-Asian harassment.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

Critics have claimed that her family's shipping company, [[Foremost Group]] has ties to China.<ref name="bridge" /> From January 2018 to April 2019, 72% of the total tonnage of chartered cargo shipped by Foremost was shipped to and from China.<ref name="bridge" /> During Mitch McConnell's reelection campaign in 2020, his Democratic opponent Amy McGrath accused McConnell of making "millions from China." ''The Washington Post'' called these claims "spurious" and rated them "three Pinocchios" out of a possible four.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rizzo |first=Salvador |date=August 10, 2020 |title=Amy McGrath's spurious claim that McConnell 'made millions from China' |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/08/10/amy-mcgraths-spurious-claim-that-mcconnell-made-millions-china/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230730053726/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/08/10/amy-mcgraths-spurious-claim-that-mcconnell-made-millions-china/ |archive-date=July 30, 2023 |access-date=July 24, 2023 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref>

As Secretary of Transportation, Chao appeared in at least a dozen interviews with her 96-year-old father, James, the founder of her family's shipping company. Some media outlets said the appearances raised ethical concerns, as public officials are prohibited from using their office to profit others or themselves.<ref name="father">{{Cite news |last=Snyder |first=Tanya |date=May 6, 2018 |title=Did Elaine Chao's DOT interviews help her family's business? |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/06/elaine-chao-father-james-transportation-department-569686 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210327065609/https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/06/elaine-chao-father-james-transportation-department-569686 |archive-date=March 27, 2021 |access-date=January 8, 2021 |work=[[Politico]]}}</ref> The Transportation Department's inspector general cited numerous instances where Chao's office helped promote her family's shipping business.<ref name="misuse">{{Cite news |last1=Lipton |first1=Eric |last2=Forsythe |first2=Michael |date=March 3, 2021 |title=Inspector General's Report Cites Elaine Chao for Misuse of Office |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/03/us/politics/elaine-chao-inspector-general-report.html |access-date=March 3, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210327163129/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/03/us/politics/elaine-chao-inspector-general-report.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The inspector general asked the Trump administration's Justice Department in December 2020 to consider a criminal investigation into Chao, but the DOJ denied the request.<ref name="misuse" />  Federal disclosures cited by ''[[The New York Times]]'' revealed a gift to Chao and her husband from Chao's father valued between $5{{spaces}}million and $25{{spaces}}million.<ref name="bridge" /> 

Chao pledged in 2017 to divest into cash the "[[Stock based compensation|deferred stock units]]" (non-transferrable stock equivalents) she had earned while she was on the board of directors of [[Vulcan Materials]]<ref name="divest">{{cite news|last=Lipton|first=Eric|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/13/us/politics/elaine-chao-vulcan-stock.html|title=Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao Sells Stock in Highway Supply Company|newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 13, 2019|access-date=June 13, 2019|archive-date=February 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226052412/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/13/us/politics/elaine-chao-vulcan-stock.html|url-status=live}}</ref> by April 2018.<ref name="pledge">{{Cite news |last1=Mann |first1=Ted |last2=Mullins |first2=Brody |date=May 28, 2019 |title=Transportation Secretary Still Owns Stock She Pledged to Divest |language=en-US |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/transportation-secretary-still-owns-stock-she-pledged-to-divest-11559035921 |access-date=June 5, 2019 |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=June 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190605041226/https://www.wsj.com/articles/transportation-secretary-still-owns-stock-she-pledged-to-divest-11559035921 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="sell">{{cite news|last1=Mann|first1=Ted|last2=Mullins|first2=Brody|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/elaine-chao-sells-vulcan-stock-holdings-11560464226|title=Elaine Chao Sells Vulcan Stock Holdings|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|date=June 13, 2019|access-date=June 13, 2019|archive-date=June 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190613231405/https://www.wsj.com/articles/elaine-chao-sells-vulcan-stock-holdings-11560464226|url-status=live}}</ref> After the Wall Street Journal and other major news outlets reported in late May 2019 that she was still holding the stock, worth $250,000 to $500,000, she sold it on June 3, 2019,<ref name="sell" /><ref name="divest" /> for a gain of $50,000 since April 2018; a report by the Inspector General did "not identify any evidence of a financial conflict of interest."<ref name="sell" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Letter to Chairman DeFazio |url=https://www.oig.dot.gov/sites/default/files/DOT%20OIG%20Letter%20to%20Chairman%20Peter%20DeFazio_2021-03-02.pdf |website=DOT.gov |access-date=October 10, 2023 |archive-date=September 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210915090144/https://www.oig.dot.gov/sites/default/files/DOT%20OIG%20Letter%20to%20Chairman%20Peter%20DeFazio_2021-03-02.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

An October 2018 Politico analysis found that Chao had more than 290 hours of appointments which were labelled as "private" during working hours on working days in the first 14 months of her tenure as Secretary of Transportation, which former Department of Transportation officials described as unusual. DoT officials stated that the "private" labeling existed to help ensure Chao's security.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Where is Elaine Chao? |url=https://www.politico.com/interactives/2018/where-is-elaine-chao/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210326035953/https://www.politico.com/interactives/2018/where-is-elaine-chao/ |archive-date=March 26, 2021 |access-date=October 12, 2018 |work=POLITICO}}</ref>

In June 2019, ''Politico'' reported that in 2017 Chao had designated her aide Todd Inman as a special liaison "to help with grant applications and other priorities" for Transportation Department projects in the state of [[Kentucky]], the only state to have such a liaison. Inman was to act as an intermediary between the department, local Kentucky officials, and Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, who is Chao's husband. This resulted in grants of at least $78{{spaces}}million for projects in Mitch McConnell strongholds [[Boone County, Kentucky|Boone County]] and [[Owensboro]]. Inman had worked on the 2008 and 2014 re-election campaigns of McConnell; McConnell and local officials brought up the grants when he announced in Owensboro in December 2018 that he was running for re-election in 2020. Inman later became Chao's chief of staff. However, the Inspector General "did not find any irregularities" with respect to grants benefitting Kentucky and saw awards to Kentucky that were "consistent with other States' results" and "did not find evidence of steering" and concluded that the investigation "did not uncover evidence that Mr. Inman influenced grant awards benefiting Kentucky or gave Kentucky applicants an improper advantage."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/10/mcconnell-elaine-chao-1358068|title=Chao created special path for McConnell's favored projects|last1=Doherty|first1=Tucker|last2=Snyder|first2=Tanya|website=POLITICO|date=June 10, 2019|language=en|access-date=June 10, 2019|archive-date=June 10, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190610103649/https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/10/mcconnell-elaine-chao-1358068|url-status=live}}</ref> 

In May 2020, the Trump administration removed the acting Inspector General of the Transportation Department, Mitch Behm. Behm, who was not a political appointee, was conducting an investigation into whether Secretary Elaine Chao was giving preferential treatment to projects in Kentucky. Her husband, Mitch McConnell, is the Senator of Kentucky and faced a re-election bid at the time.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2020 |title=Democrats open investigation into Trump's replacement of acting Transportation Department inspector general |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/democrats-open-investigation-into-replacement-of-acting-transportation-department-inspector-general/2020/05/19/e8e62b52-99f5-11ea-89fd-28fb313d1886_story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520050815/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/democrats-open-investigation-into-replacement-of-acting-transportation-department-inspector-general/2020/05/19/e8e62b52-99f5-11ea-89fd-28fb313d1886_story.html |archive-date=May 20, 2020 |access-date=May 20, 2020 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mintz |first=Sam |date=May 19, 2020 |title=Democrats blast removal of acting DOT inspector general |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/19/democrats-blast-removal-of-acting-dot-inspector-general-268611 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210324053126/https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/19/democrats-blast-removal-of-acting-dot-inspector-general-268611 |archive-date=March 24, 2021 |access-date=May 20, 2020 |website=POLITICO}}</ref> Trump appointed Howard "Skip" Elliott as interim Inspector General of the Transportation Department to replace Behm. However, at the same time, Elliott served in a dual role where Chao was his boss. Thus, Elliott was head of an office that was investigating his own actions and those of Chao.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Rein |first1=Lisa |last2=Hamburger |first2=Tom |date=May 25, 2020 |title=As Trump removes federal watchdogs, some loyalists replacing them have 'preposterous' conflicts |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/as-trump-removes-federal-watchdogs-some-loyalists-replacing-them-have-extensive-conflicts/2020/05/24/8dad46a4-9b89-11ea-a2b3-5c3f2d1586df_story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210213064838/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/as-trump-removes-federal-watchdogs-some-loyalists-replacing-them-have-extensive-conflicts/2020/05/24/8dad46a4-9b89-11ea-a2b3-5c3f2d1586df_story.html |archive-date=February 13, 2021 |access-date=March 20, 2021 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref>

In September 2019, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives [[Committee on Oversight and Reform]] began an investigation into whether she used political office to benefit her family's business interests.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/16/us/politics/elaine-chao-house-investigation.html|title=Elaine Chao Investigated by House Panel for Possible Conflicts|last1=Lipton|first1=Eric|date=September 16, 2019|work=The New York Times|access-date=September 27, 2019|last2=Forsythe|first2=Michael|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210327144733/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/16/us/politics/elaine-chao-house-investigation.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://oversight.house.gov/news/press-releases/oversight-launches-investigation-of-ethics-allegations-against-chao|title=Oversight Launches Investigation of Ethics Allegations Against Chao|date=September 16, 2019|website=House Committee on Oversight and Reform|language=en|access-date=December 7, 2019|archive-date=December 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191206152501/https://oversight.house.gov/news/press-releases/oversight-launches-investigation-of-ethics-allegations-against-chao|url-status=live}}</ref> A September 16 letter from the Oversight committee to Chao documented allegations that the Department of Transportation was forced to cancel a trip to China in 2017 that Chao had planned to take because State Department ethics officials challenged her attempts to include her family members in official meetings with the Chinese government. The trip was canceled due to scheduling issues and no ethics charges were sustained.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://oversight.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight.house.gov/files/documents/2019-09-16.EEC%20RK%20to%20DOT%20re%20Chao.pdf|title=Letter to DOT re: Chao|last=United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform|date=September 16, 2019|website=United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform|access-date=December 7, 2019|archive-date=December 10, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210235307/https://oversight.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight.house.gov/files/documents/2019-09-16.EEC%20RK%20to%20DOT%20re%20Chao.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

On March 4, 2021, the Inspector General released their report regarding numerous ethics violations,{{efn|Adding family members and personal events to a planned (though later cancelled) trip to China in 2017, providing DOT Public Affairs and media support to her father{{spaces}}...<ref name="misuse" /><ref>[https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/world/news/watchdog-says-elaine-chao-ex-transpo-secretary-and-mitch-mcconnells-wife-misused-office-including-making-staff-edit-her-dads-wikipedia-page/articleshow/81322064.cms Watchdog says Elaine Chao, ex-transpo secretary and Mitch McConnell's wife, misused office including making staff edit her dad's Wikipedia page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304172055/https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/world/news/watchdog-says-elaine-chao-ex-transpo-secretary-and-mitch-mcconnells-wife-misused-office-including-making-staff-edit-her-dads-wikipedia-page/articleshow/81322064.cms |date=March 4, 2021 }}, ''[[Business Insider India]]'', LAUREN FRIAS, March 4, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2021.</ref>}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/elaine-chao-watchdog-report-transportation-department/|title=Elaine Chao used Transportation Department resources for personal use, watchdog finds|website=cbsnews.com|date=March 4, 2021|access-date=March 4, 2021|archive-date=March 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304231519/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/elaine-chao-watchdog-report-transportation-department/|url-status=live}}</ref> including using department resources for personal errands and for promoting her father's biography.<ref name="chao_npr">{{cite news |last=Diaz |first=Jaclyn |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/03/04/973564687/elaine-chao-used-dot-resources-for-personal-errands-family-business-inspector-sa |title=Elaine Chao Used DOT Resources For Personal Errands, Family Business, IG Report Says |date=March 4, 2021 |access-date=February 6, 2022 |archive-date=January 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220123045124/https://www.npr.org/2021/03/04/973564687/elaine-chao-used-dot-resources-for-personal-errands-family-business-inspector-sa |url-status=live }}</ref> It also stated that it had referred its investigation to the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington D.C. for criminal prosecution in December 2020. Both declined to open criminal investigations into Chao.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/watchdog-faulted-elaine-chao-misuse-office-transportation-secretary-n1259547|title=Watchdog faulted Elaine Chao for misuse of office as transportation secretary|website=NBC News|date=March 4, 2021|access-date=March 4, 2021|archive-date=March 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311024501/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/watchdog-faulted-elaine-chao-misuse-office-transportation-secretary-n1259547|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Corn |first1=David |title=Inspector general report says Elaine Chao may have violated federal ethics laws |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/03/inspector-general-report-says-elaine-chao-may-have-violated-federal-ethics-laws/ |website=Mother Jones |access-date=March 3, 2021 |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220110015450/https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/03/inspector-general-report-says-elaine-chao-may-have-violated-federal-ethics-laws/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

After her resignation in January 2021 in protest over the [[January 6 United States Capitol attack]], President Trump referred to Chao using a racial slur and labeled the Taiwan-born US citizen as a "China lover."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Trump's racist comment on Elaine Chao, McConnell's wife, draws criticism from the right |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/10/03/trumps-comments-elaine-chao-mitch-mcconnell-draw-fierce-criticism/8166330001/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529204022/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/10/03/trumps-comments-elaine-chao-mitch-mcconnell-draw-fierce-criticism/8166330001/ |archive-date=May 29, 2023 |access-date=July 24, 2023 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}</ref> The slur was immediately condemned by Republican, Democratic, Asian-American and other community leaders including the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Flannery |first=Russell |title=Top Chinese American Group Blasts "Racist Slurs" By Trump About His Former Transportation Secretary |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/russellflannery/2022/10/04/top-chinese-american-group-blasts-racist-slurs-by-trump-about-his-former-transportation-secretary/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724220717/https://www.forbes.com/sites/russellflannery/2022/10/04/top-chinese-american-group-blasts-racist-slurs-by-trump-about-his-former-transportation-secretary/ |archive-date=July 24, 2023 |access-date=July 24, 2023 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=July 16, 2019 |title=President doubles down on feud with lawmakers |url=https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2019/jul/16/president-doubles-down-on-feud-with-law/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724220722/https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2019/jul/16/president-doubles-down-on-feud-with-law/ |archive-date=July 24, 2023 |access-date=July 24, 2023 |website=Arkansas Online |language=en}}</ref> Trump also referred to Chao as "crazy."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Loh |first=Matthew |date=January 27, 2023 |title=Elaine Chao, Trump-era transportation secretary and Mitch McConnell's wife, hits back at Trump for giving her racist nickname |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/elaine-chao-trump-racist-nickname-coco-chow-response-2023-1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308133431/https://www.businessinsider.com/elaine-chao-trump-racist-nickname-coco-chow-response-2023-1 |archive-date=March 8, 2023 |access-date=March 8, 2023 |work=[[Business Insider]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Min Kim |first=Seung |date=March 26, 2021 |title=In show of bipartisan solidarity, 26 governors and more than 60 former officials condemn anti-Asian attacks |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/more-than-60-former-officials-condemn-anti-asian-attacks/2021/03/25/8b024ca0-8dc4-11eb-aff6-4f720ca2d479_story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221211222709/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/more-than-60-former-officials-condemn-anti-asian-attacks/2021/03/25/8b024ca0-8dc4-11eb-aff6-4f720ca2d479_story.html |archive-date=December 11, 2022 |access-date=August 12, 2023 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref>

===Post-Trump administration===
[[File:Elaine Chao by Gage Skidmore.jpg|right|thumb|upright|Chao speaking at an event in June 2022]]
In August 2021, Chao was elected to the board of directors of the [[Kroger]] supermarket chain.<ref name=IBTimes-ChaoKroger>{{cite news|last1=Geske|first1=Dawn|title=Why Customers Are Furious With Kroger And Boycotting Its Stores: 'This Is The Last Straw'|work=International Business Times|date=August 5, 2021|url=https://www.ibtimes.com/why-customers-are-furious-kroger-boycotting-its-stores-last-straw-3267450|access-date=September 10, 2021|archive-date=September 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910082207/https://www.ibtimes.com/why-customers-are-furious-kroger-boycotting-its-stores-last-straw-3267450|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2021, Chao also joined the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Ted |date=December 8, 2020 |title=Donald Trump, Nearing End Of Presidency, Taps Supporters For Slots On Kennedy Center Board Of Trustees |url=https://deadline.com/2020/12/donald-trump-kennedy-center-board-of-trustees-1234652321/ |access-date=October 10, 2023 |website=Deadline |language=en-US |archive-date=December 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202090704/https://deadline.com/2020/12/donald-trump-kennedy-center-board-of-trustees-1234652321/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Awards and honorary degrees===
Chao holds 38 [[honorary doctorates]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Elaine Chao|url=https://www.elainelchao.com/honorary-degrees|access-date=January 16, 2021|website=elainelchao.com|archive-date=January 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121042323/https://www.elainelchao.com/honorary-degrees|url-status=live}}</ref> including an honorary [[Doctor of Humane Letters]] from Georgetown [[McDonough School of Business]] in 2015.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://msb.georgetown.edu/newsroom/news/former-secretary-labor-encourages-graduates-create-value |title=Former Secretary of Labor Encourages Graduates to Create Value |access-date=May 16, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150611122741/http://msb.georgetown.edu/newsroom/news/former-secretary-labor-encourages-graduates-create-value |archive-date=June 11, 2015 |quote=...{{spaces}}Chao was awarded an honorary doctor of humane letters from Georgetown University.}}</ref> She was initiated into [[Omicron Delta Kappa]] at SUNY Plattsburgh as an ''honoris causa'' initiate in 1996.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Notable Members|url=https://odk.org/about-odk/history/notable-alumni/|access-date=November 18, 2021|website=Omicron Delta Kappa|language=en-US|archive-date=September 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902002605/https://odk.org/about-odk/history/notable-alumni/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2006, inaugural class of winner of the [[Great Immigrants Award]] named by [[Carnegie Corporation of New York]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=2006 Great Immigrants: Elaine Chao |url=https://www.carnegie.org/awards/honoree/elaine-chao/ |access-date=February 21, 2024 |website=Great Immigrants, Great Americans |archive-date=March 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210329172140/https://www.carnegie.org/awards/honoree/elaine-chao/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Personal life==
[[File:Mitch McConnell and Elaine Chao (cropped).jpg|upright|thumb|Chao and her husband, [[Mitch McConnell]]]]

In 1993, Chao married [[Mitch McConnell]], [[List of United States Senators from Kentucky|U.S. Senator from Kentucky]].<ref name="girding">{{cite news |last1=Horowitz |first1=Jason |title=Girding for a Fight, McConnell Enlists His Wife |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/14/us/politics/girding-for-a-fight-mcconnell-enlists-his-wife.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=May 13, 2014 |access-date=February 15, 2017 |archive-date=February 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225235117/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/14/us/politics/girding-for-a-fight-mcconnell-enlists-his-wife.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[University of Louisville]]'s Ekstrom Library opened the "McConnell-Chao Archives" in November 2009. It is a major component of the university's [[McConnell Center]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Open house set Nov. 12 for new McConnell-Chao archive |url=http://louisville.edu/uofltoday/campus-news/open-house-set-nov.-12-for-new-mcconnell-chao-archive |work=University of Louisville Today |publisher=University of Louisville |date=November 11, 2009 |access-date=February 18, 2015 |archive-date=February 18, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150218182011/http://louisville.edu/uofltoday/campus-news/open-house-set-nov.-12-for-new-mcconnell-chao-archive |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Mission of the Archives |url=http://louisville.edu/mcconnellcenter/programs/archives |website=McConnell-Chao Archives and Civic Education Gallery |access-date=April 4, 2021 |archive-date=April 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413123829/https://louisville.edu/mcconnellcenter/programs/archives |url-status=live }}</ref>

From July 2022 onward, Trump had criticized McConnell's leadership on social media and directed attacks at Chao, including calling her "Coco Chow," seen by some as overtly racist. In a statement to [[Politico]] in January 2023, Chao said that people had "deliberately misspelled or mispronounced my name. Asian Americans have worked hard to change that experience for the next generation. He doesn’t seem to understand that, which says a whole lot more about him than it will ever say about Asian Americans."<ref>{{cite news |last=McGraw |first=Meredith |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2023/01/25/elaine-chao-donald-trump-racist-attacks-00079478 |title=The private angst over Donald Trump's racist attacks on Elaine Chao goes public |work=[[Politico]] |date=January 25, 2023 |access-date=August 31, 2023 |archive-date=September 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230911053600/https://www.politico.com/news/2023/01/25/elaine-chao-donald-trump-racist-attacks-00079478 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Kilgore |first=Ed |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/08/trump-revives-his-feud-with-mcconnell-and-his-wife-coco.html |title=Trump Revives His Feud With McConnell (and His Wife, 'Coco') |date=August 25, 2022 |access-date=August 31, 2023 |archive-date=March 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308133432/https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/08/trump-revives-his-feud-with-mcconnell-and-his-wife-coco.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Campaigning===
In the two years leading up to the [[2014 U.S. Senate elections]], during which time Chao was not in public office, Chao "headlined fifty of her own events and attended hundreds more with and on behalf of" her husband and was seen as "a driving force of his reelection campaign" and eventual victory over [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] candidate [[Alison Lundergan Grimes]], who had portrayed McConnell as "anti-woman".<ref name="secret">{{cite magazine |first=Jay |last=Newton-Small |title=Mitch McConnell's Secret Weapon: His Wife |url=https://time.com/3574652/mitch-mcconnells-secret-weapon-his-wife/ |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=November 9, 2014 |access-date=February 18, 2015 |archive-date=March 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307204645/https://time.com/3574652/mitch-mcconnells-secret-weapon-his-wife/ |url-status=live }}</ref> After winning the election, McConnell said, "The biggest asset I have by far is the only Kentucky woman who served in a [[Cabinet of the United States|president's cabinet]], my wife, Elaine Chao."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bailey |first1=Phillip M. |title=Democratic Strategist Under Fire for Criticizing Mitch McConnell's 'Asian' Wife |url=http://wkms.org/post/democratic-strategist-under-fire-criticizing-mitch-mcconnells-asian-wife |work=WKMS |date=August 4, 2014 |access-date=February 18, 2015 |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308083314/https://www.wkms.org/post/democratic-strategist-under-fire-criticizing-mitch-mcconnells-asian-wife |url-status=live }}</ref>

She has been described by Jan Karzen, a longtime friend of McConnell's, as adding "a softer touch" to McConnell's style by speaking of him "in a feminine, wifely way".<ref name="girding" /> She has also been described as "the campaign hugger".<ref name="secret" /> ''[[The New York Times]]'' described Chao as "unapologetically ambitious".<ref name="girding" />

Chao's father has donated "millions of dollars" to the Chao-McConnell family.<ref name="bridge" /> Chao's extended family has given more than a million dollars to McConnell's campaigns.<ref name="bridge" /> The extended family is also a top contributor to the [[Republican Party of Kentucky]], giving it approximately $525,000 over two decades.<ref name="bridge" />

===Family===
{{Main|James S. C. Chao|Ruth Mulan Chu Chao}}
[[File:Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen meet with Elaine Chao, who was born in Taiwan, and her father James Si-Cheng Chao who lived in Taiwan for about 10 years.jpg|thumb|275px|Elaine Chao and her father [[James S. C. Chao]] met [[Taiwanese President]] [[Tsai Ing-wen]] at the [[Presidential Office Building, Taiwan|Presidential Office]] in Taipei, [[Taiwan]], in 2016.]]Chao has five younger sisters, including [[Angela Chao|Angela]], former CEO of the Foremost Group.<ref name="ruth">{{cite news|title=Paid Notice: Deaths – Chao, Ruth Mulan Chu|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE1D8133AF93BA3575BC0A9619C8B63|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=August 8, 2007|access-date=February 15, 2017|archive-date=October 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171004090110/https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE1D8133AF93BA3575BC0A9619C8B63|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="voyage">{{cite news |first1=Michel |last1=Martin |author-link1=Michel Martin |title=For Elaine Chao, A Tough Voyage To U.S. Leadership |url=https://www.npr.org/2012/07/18/156976066/for-elaine-chao-a-tough-voyage-to-u-s-leadership |work=[[NPR]] |date=July 18, 2012 |access-date=April 4, 2018 |archive-date=February 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202074255/https://www.npr.org/2012/07/18/156976066/for-elaine-chao-a-tough-voyage-to-u-s-leadership |url-status=live }}</ref>  In February 2024, Angela died after backing her car into a pond.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Bradsher |first1=Keith |last2=Forsythe |first2=Michael |date=February 14, 2024 |title=Angela Chao, C.E.O. of Family's Big Shipping Company, Dies at 50 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/14/business/angela-chao-dead.html |access-date=February 14, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 16, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240216111258/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/14/business/angela-chao-dead.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Chao's sister Grace is married to [[Gordon Hartogensis]] who served as director of the [[Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation]] (PBGC), a part of the Labor Department, in May 2019.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mangan |first1=Dan |last2=Breuniger |first2=Kevin |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/15/trump-nominates-mitch-mcconnell-in-law-gordon-hartogensis-for-job.html |title=Trump nominates brother-in-law of Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell and Transportation Secretary Chao to run pension agency |work=CNBC |date=May 15, 2018 |access-date=June 12, 2019 |archive-date=September 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190921023942/https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/15/trump-nominates-mitch-mcconnell-in-law-gordon-hartogensis-for-job.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="in-laws">{{cite news |last=Kullgren |first=Ian |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/17/mitch-mcconnell-know-run-agency-1033119 |title=Want to run an agency? It helps to know Mitch McConnell |work=Politico |date=December 17, 2019 |access-date=June 12, 2019 |archive-date=May 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190527060748/https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/17/mitch-mcconnell-know-run-agency-1033119 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ai-cio.com/news/pbgc-director-nominee-gets-kicked-back-trump/ |title=PBGC Director Nominee Gets Kicked Back to Trump |work=Chief Investment Officer |date=January 8, 2019 |access-date=June 12, 2019 |archive-date=July 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190707150727/https://www.ai-cio.com/news/pbgc-director-nominee-gets-kicked-back-trump/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="confirmed">{{cite news |url=https://www.ai-cio.com/news/senate-confirms-gordon-hartogensis-director-pbgc/ |title=Senate Confirms Gordon Hartogensis as Director of PBGC |work=Chief Investment Officer |date=May 3, 2019 |access-date=June 12, 2019 |archive-date=July 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190707131519/https://www.ai-cio.com/news/senate-confirms-gordon-hartogensis-director-pbgc/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Hartogensis co-founded forecasting-software company Petrolsoft in 1989, which was purchased for $60{{spaces}}million by Aspen Technology in 2000.<ref name="in-laws" /> He founded and led application software company Auric Technology LLC until it was sold to a company based in Mexico in 2011 and then helped govern the Hartogensis Family Trust.<ref name="confirmed" /><ref name="in-laws" />

In April 2008, Chao's father gave Chao and McConnell between $5{{spaces}}million and $25{{spaces}}million.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/mitch-mcconnells-freighted-ties-shadowy-shipping-company/ |title=Mitch McConnell's Freighted Ties to a Shadowy Shipping Company |last=Fang |first=Lee |date=October 30, 2014 |work=The Nation |access-date=February 7, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0027-8378 |archive-date=December 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209093403/https://www.thenation.com/article/mitch-mcconnells-freighted-ties-shadowy-shipping-company/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first1=John |last1=Bresnahan |first2=Manu |last2=Raju |title=Members' fortunes see steep declines |url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0609/23693.html |work=Politico |date=June 12, 2009 |access-date=February 18, 2015 |archive-date=May 7, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150507235907/http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0609/23693.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="fang">{{cite news |last1=Fang |first1=Lee |title=Mitch McConnell's Freighted Ties to a Shadowy Shipping Company |url=http://www.thenation.com/article/186689/mitch-mcconnells-freighted-ties-shadowy-shipping-company |work=The Nation |date=October 30, 2014 |access-date=February 18, 2015 |archive-date=February 19, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219132408/http://www.thenation.com/article/186689/mitch-mcconnells-freighted-ties-shadowy-shipping-company |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2012, the Chao family donated $40{{spaces}}million to [[Harvard Business School]] for scholarships to students of Chinese heritage and for the Ruth Mulan Chu Chao Center, an [[executive education]] building named for Chao's late mother.<ref>{{cite news |first1=John |last1=Lauerman |title=Harvard Business School Gets $40 Million Gift From Chao Family |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-10-12/harvard-business-school-gets-40-million-gift-from-chao-family |work=Bloomberg Business |date=October 12, 2012 |access-date=March 6, 2017 |archive-date=November 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171112043608/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-10-12/harvard-business-school-gets-40-million-gift-from-chao-family |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Harvard Business School Building Boom Continues |url=http://harvardmagazine.com/2012/10/harvard-business-school-new-chao-building-fellowships |work=[[Harvard Magazine]] |date=October 12, 2012 |access-date=February 18, 2015 |archive-date=February 21, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221042830/http://harvardmagazine.com/2012/10/harvard-business-school-new-chao-building-fellowships |url-status=live }}</ref> It is the first Harvard Business School building named after a woman<ref>{{cite news |first1=Brandon J. |last1=Dixon |title=Business School Names First HBS Building after a Woman, Asian American |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2016/6/16/hbs-chao-center-dedicated |work=The Harvard Crimson |date=June 16, 2016 |access-date=July 17, 2019 |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308133739/https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2016/6/16/hbs-chao-center-dedicated/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and the first building named after an American of Asian ancestry.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.hbs.edu/about/campus-and-culture/campus-built-on-philanthropy/Pages/chao-center.aspx |title=Chao Center – About Us |website=Harvard Business School |access-date=February 6, 2017 |archive-date=February 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226121751/https://www.hbs.edu/about/campus-and-culture/campus-built-on-philanthropy/Pages/chao-center.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Ruth Mulan Chu Chao]] returned to school at age 51 to earn a master's degree in [[Asian literature]] and [[History of Asia|history]] from [[St. John's University (New York City)|St. John's University]] in the [[Queens]] [[borough (New York City)|borough]] of New York City.<ref name="ruth" />

Elaine Chao along with the Chao family are Christians.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://english.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=3739|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250208063131/https://english.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=3739|archive-date=8 February 2025|access-date=8 February 2025|title=Exclusive: Elaine Chao and Her Father Talk About Healing After Tragic Loss|last1=Lin|first1=Rebecca|date=10 July 2024|website=CommonWealth Magazine|publisher=天下雜誌|quote=The Chaos are devout Christians.}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Taiwanese Americans in New York City]]
* [[Chinese Americans in New York City]]
* [[List of female United States Cabinet members]]
*[[List of United States Cabinet members who have served more than eight years]]
* [[List of foreign-born United States Cabinet members]]
* [[List of people who have held multiple United States Cabinet-level positions]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
{{wikiquote}}
<!-- per [[WP:ELMINOFFICIAL]], choose one official website only -->
*{{official website}}
*{{C-SPAN}}

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