Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao joins Tom Price and many others in Donald Trump’s ever-growing swamp. These people are literally stealing from taxpayers.
While Elaine Chao was luxuriating on executive flights that cost taxpayers thousands of dollars, her husband Senator Mitch McConnell was scheming to take health care from millions of Americans.
Taxpayer money is good for pampering Trump’s swampers, but not good enough for healthcare for all Americans.
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao had planned to fly commercial to Detroit in early June for events on the future of American roads. Then, days before, the White House derailed her plans, organizing an "infrastructure week" speech in Washington alongside President Trump.
But Chao had a special perk to keep her schedule on track: a small fleet of taxpayer-funded executive aircraft that have long served the U.S. and international travel needs of transportation secretaries. Chao attended both cities' events with the help of a Cessna business jet that the Federal Aviation Administration charges other government agencies nearly $5,000 an hour to fly.
Because of the FAA fleet, Chao — who is married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) — was back in Washington in time for a Capitol Hill discussion two days later on commercial airline fees.
Chao has flown on the government's Gulfstream IV and two leased Cessnas seven times in the past eight months, including during day trips to cities about an hour's flight from Washington, as well as longer official sojourns to France and Italy for which flights cost taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars.