Trump Picks Elaine Chao for Transportation Secretary

President-elect Donald Trump has selected Elaine Chao, a former US labor secretary who antagonized unions and cheered conservatives, to lead the government’s transportation policy.

The Trump campaign has said it would propose to spend up to $1 trillion to rebuild roadways, bridges, and mass transit in the 10 years that followed this year’s election. She received a B.A.in Economics from Mount Holyoke College in 1975 and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1979, but also has received 36 honorary doctorates.

“She was picked mainly because of her multiple identities: a veteran Republican politician, a woman, an immigrant, and a Washington insider”, Zhu said, adding that the fact that Chao is married to Mitch McConnell, Senate majority leader, may also be very helpful for Trump to smooth his relations with Congress.

Elaine Chao is Trump’s pick for secretary of transportation.

“We have the utmost respect for Elaine Chao, an accomplished public servant and highly capable leader”, Adrian Durbin, Lyft’s spokesperson, told Recode.

“Ms. Chao’s knowledge of transportation issues is extensive, and we look forward to working closely with her”, said Niki Christoff, Uber’s head of federal affairs.

This is the latest in Mr. Trump’s Cabinet and staff announcements.

“Extrapolating President-elect Trump’s posture on regulations, he’s clearly looking to having a much lighter regulatory environment”, Strickland said during a press call last week.

If Transportation Secretary Chao is able to remain consistent with her earlier positions, government regulatory groups that seek to tighten control of the sharing economy transportation businesses will likely find little support and a lot of pushback from the federal government. So, assuming she will be confirmed, she will step into the Department of Transportation (DOT) leadership position with significant experience in both labor and transportation-related issues.

During her time as labor secretary, Chao faced criticism in two mining disasters that occurred after mining inspections were reduced: Twelve miners were killed in the 2006 Sago Mine incident, and three rescue workers died the following year trying to reach trapped workers at the Crandall Canyon Mine.

Chao served as the 24th United States secretary of Labor from 2001-2009.

Trump has long discussed the need to fix the nation’s crumbling infrastructure, which would become a key focus for his Transportation secretary. She has worked in Washington for years, a plus for a boss who never has, but not exactly a fresh start.

Chao didn’t speak English when she arrived with her family in the U.S.at age 8 from Taiwan, according to a biography on her website. She also sits on Rupert Murdoch’s, 85, News Corp board of directors, which (along with other business connections) may come under fire during her confirmation hearing. On the stormy side, the Heritage Foundation, whose thinking may be infused in Chao’s views this is not known with certainty, has railed against the Jones Act.