U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is married to his wife of 30 years Elaine Chao, former U.S. Secretary of Labor during the George W. Bush administration (2001-2009) and former U.S. Secretary of Transportation during the Donald Trump administration (2017-2012).
Chao resigned five days after the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and said: “At a particular point the events were such that it was impossible for me to continue, given my personal values and my philosophy.”
— Elaine Chao (@ElaineChao) December 1, 2023
After she resigned, Trump directed “overtly racist” attacks at Chao, including calling her “Coco Chow.”
In a January 2023 statement, Chao said that people had “deliberately misspelled or mispronounced my name. Asian Americans have worked hard to change that experience for the next generation. He [Trump] doesn’t seem to understand that, which says a whole lot more about him than it will ever say about Asian Americans.”
.#ElaineChao issued a rare response to #DonaldTrump's #Racist nickname for her.https://t.co/YIIfXsoFyo
— Trump’s Noble Peace Prize (@LaBoomer68) February 18, 2023
This week, Chao attended at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival in Utah, where she was honored at the Utah’s Women Leadership Celebration. The former Secretary reports that the event was “full of inspiring stories of women from diverse backgrounds!”
Thrilled to be honored during this year's Women's Leadership Celebration at the Sundance Film Festival! Event was full of inspiring stories of women from diverse backgrounds! Thanks to Mr. Scott Anderson & Zions Bank for supporting this wonderful event! pic.twitter.com/5Rl3ldZfJP
— Elaine Chao (@ElaineChao) January 27, 2024
During her speech (above) at Sundance, Chao (who is the eldest of six) spoke about her and her family’s struggle to adapt to America after migrating from Taiwan.
She said, “Coming to a new country, learning a new culture, and how to adapt to a new surrounding was a seminal experience in my lifetime. And for the longest time, I felt that I would never find my place in America. It was often a lonely journey.”
Chao was one of eight women including filmmaker Rory Kennedy (daughter of the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy) and former President of Ireland Mary Robinson — who were honored “for their leadership in a variety of fields, from public service to philanthropy.”
