President-elect Donald Trump will name former Secretary of
Labor Elaine Chao as secretary of transportation, according to multiple news
sources citing transition officials. Chao, who led the U.S. Department of Labor
for all eight years of President George W. Bush's administration, also served
as deputy secretary of transportation under Samuel Skinner during President
George H.W. Bush's administration.
Tasked with Trump's campaign promise of $1 trillion in
infrastructure investments, Chao also could push for making the U.S. air
traffic control system a private, nonprofit entity rather than a government
agency, a proposal the Senate shot
down this year. Since her tenure as labor secretary ended in 2009, Chao has
been a distinguished fellow of The Heritage Foundation. In an article earlier
this year, the conservative think tank urged Congress "to eliminate the
burdensome bureaucratic control of our nation's aviation system by moving
toward true privatization, reduced federal spending and lower taxes."
Former Secretary of Transportation James Burnley, Skinner's
predecessor with whom Chao worked as deputy maritime administrator, told BTN Chao "knows DOT and its issues
well" and "is a strong believer in free markets, and I expect she will
approach most economic issues from that perspective."
The U.S. Travel Association stated, "Candidate Trump exhibited a clear understanding of the urgent need for aggressive investment in our infrastructure in order to keep America competitive and spur economic and job growth, and now President-elect Trump is following through with a strong and capable choice to lead those efforts."
Chao
also is the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and played an active
role in his reelection campaign in 2014.