Trump’s Transportation Secretary Nominee Has History of Poor Performance as Bush’s Labor Secretary

Chao Cut 100 Mine Safety Inspectors

Donald Trump has chosen Elaine Chao to become the next Secretary of Transportation, despite her poor performance as Secretary of Labor under President George W. Bush. Chao was criticized after the deaths of 12 miners in 2006 and three rescue workers in 2007 after cutting the jobs of over 100 mine safety inspectors.

Upon her departure as Labor Secretary in 2009, The New York Times reported Chao was criticized for having “favored business and was lax on enforcement and worker safety.”

“We don’t think the secretary serves the interests of workers very effectively,” said Bill Samuel, the A.F.L.-C.I.O.’s director of government affairs. “There have been virtually no new regulations on workplace hazards except those required by the courts. And she seemed to take the side of employers more than workers when there were conflicts.”

As Secretary of Transportation, Chao would oversee a $77 billion department with nearly 59,000 employees. The Department of Transportation, through agencies including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and Office of Inspector General (OIG), is responsible for inspecting the nation’s transportation systems to ensure they meet safety standards, and for investigating accidents, including plane and train crashes to determine causes and apply that information to ensure repeat accidents do not occur.

Chao, who has spent many years at a far right wing think tank, the Heritage Foundation, is also married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. During his re-election campaign he called her his “biggest asset.”

Image by McConnell Center via Flickr and a CC license