Trump Transportation pick Chao will gridlock climate progress

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Donald Trump has reportedly decided to announce Elaine Chao as secretary of transportation. Chao has been a fellow at the Heritage Foundation and resigned from the Board of Bloomberg Philanthropies because of its efforts to fight coal.

Friends of the Earth Climate and Energy Program Director Benjamin Schreiber responded to the nomination:

As secretary of transportation Elaine Chao will spearhead a Trump plan to plunder the government for Trump’s friends and family’s financial gain. A massive corporate welfare plan for contractors is not an infrastructure plan, it’s a travesty and a threat to the planet.

Avoiding the worst impacts of climate change will require a radical reshaping of our transportation system to move us away from fossil fuels. The U.S. urgently needs a secretary of transportation who will lead this transition. As secretary of labor, Chao dismantled critical mine safety regulations and showed that she values fossil fuel profits above all else. She is the wrong choice to lead the transition to a green energy economy that will provide lasting jobs and protect the planet.

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Expert contact: Benjamin Schreiber, (202) 222-0752, [email protected]
Communications contact: Kate Colwell, (202) 222-0744, [email protected]