Elaine Chao would oversee developer giveaway
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today Elaine Chao testifies before the Senate Commerce Committee in her confirmation hearing to be Donald Trump’s 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. She is expected to steer Trump’s infrastructure package through Congress.
Friends of the Earth Senior Political Strategist Ben Schreiber responded to the nomination:
Elaine Chao has made her career attacking unions, hamstringing government and pushing privatization. She is the perfect pick for a kleptocrat like Donald Trump who seems determined to cash in on public office. Chao will clearly put polluter profits above the American people.
Trump’s infrastructure plan seems designed to plunder government coffers to benefit the Trumps and their developer friends. Chao would be tasked with steering this giveaway through a Congress led by her husband. No semi-blind trust is going to hide the reality that the gains from this massive corporate welfare plan will likely go to the Trump Family and his friends. Chao’s own family, who owns a massive shipping business, may also benefit from this plan.
Our climate crisis demands the next secretary of transportation leads a radical reshaping of our transportation system. Yet 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: Ben Schreiber, (202) 222-752, [email protected]
Communications contact: Kate Colwell, (202) 222-0744, [email protected]