How did Mitch McConnell and Elaine Chao get together?

Chao met McConnell through mutual friends in the early 1990s. Per People, the couple were friends before they dated, and were married in a private ceremony at the chapel on Capitol Hill. According to The Washington Post, the wedding took place on February 6, 1993, with the date partly chosen for being former US president Ronald Reagan’s birthday. In political circles, their union signalled the start of a powerful relationship.

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What controversies has Elaine Chao been embroiled in?

In 2021, Chao was the subject of a government report that claimed she used her position to help her family members. Several incidents were documented, including Chao asking her staff to edit her father, James Chao’s, Wikipedia page and work on promoting his biography. Prosecutors declined to take the case further and, according to People, Chao defended herself, saying that in Asian culture “it is a core value to express honour and filial respect towards one’s parents”.

Other ethical questions emerged when it was alleged that Chao’s office coordinated with her husband’s office to ensure that Kentucky-specific requests were prioritised. She also faced allegations that she used her office to boost her family’s shipping business and included her family in high-level Chinese government meetings, per American Oversight.

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What is Donald Trump’s beef with Elaine Chao?

Although it was Trump who appointed Chao as his transportation secretary, the relationship between the then president, and Chao and McConnell, eventually turned sour. After the riot at the US Capitol in January 2021, Chao resigned, describing what happened as a “traumatic and entirely avoidable event”, per Politico. Trump later called Chao “crazy” and accused her of working to “get rich on China”, according to The Hill.

After Trump made a demeaning reference to Chao, calling her “Coco Chow” in a post on Truth Social, the former government official responded in a statement shared with NBC News: “When I was young, some people deliberately misspelled or mispronounced my name. Asian-Americans have worked hard to change that experience for the next generation. He doesn’t seem to understand that, which says a whole lot more about him than it will ever say about Asian-Americans.”

How rich is Elaine Chao, and what are her links to China?

Chao has an estimated net worth of US$30 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. According to Forbes, McConnell’s own net worth increased because of a gift from Chao’s father to the couple of between US$5 million and US$25 million.

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In an investigation published by The New York Times in June 2019, the extent of Chao’s ties with China were revealed. Among the revelations was the fact that Jiang Zemin, China’s president from 1993 to 2003, had been a schoolmate of her father, James. Per the publication, James’ company, Foremost Group, builds ships in state-owned shipyards in China, with some efforts backed and financed by the Chinese government. The newspaper also reported that more than US$1 million was contributed by the Chao family to McConnell’s political campaigns over the years.