Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao — wife of Mitch McConnell — is resigning


Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao is the first Cabinet-level official planning to resign after Wednesday's Capitol riot.
Chao indicated her plans to resign in a Thursday email to Department of Transportation colleagues, citing the mob of President Trump's supporters who attacked the Capitol building the day before. Chao quickly shared the message on her social media accounts, writing that "traumatic and entirely avoidable event ... troubled me in a way that I simply cannot set aside." Chao's team would aid President-elect Joe Biden's nominee Pete Buttigieg as he transitioned to lead the department, she added.
Chao will be the highest-level departure from the Trump administration in the wake of the siege, but comes after several other White House officials, including Trump's former chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, said they'd depart ahead of Inauguration Day.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The move comes after The Daily Beast reported Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who is married to Chao, spent Wednesday night asking high-level White House officials to stay at their posts. The Post also reported four conservative GOP senators, including Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), were calling key senior White House officials to urge them not to resign. Lee's reasoning is to keep "strong leadership" in top positions until the transition, per the Post.
Chao's departure complicates reported discussions of invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office. The clause requires a majority of Cabinet officials and the vice president to tell Congress a president should be removed, allowing the vice president to take charge.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
RFK Jr.: How to destroy vaccination
Feature Robert F. Kennedy Jr. replaces all 17 members of the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice
-
The god in the machine
Feature An AI model with superhuman intelligence could soon become reality. Should we be worried?
-
ICE: Targeting essential workers
Feature After a brief pause, the Trump administration resumes its mass deportation plan
-
Judges order release of 2 high-profile migrants
Speed Read Kilmar Ábrego García is back in the US and Mahmoud Khalil is allowed to go home — for now
-
US assessing bomb damage to Iran nuclear sites
Speed Read Trump claims this weekend's US bombing obliterated Tehran's nuclear program, while JD Vance insists the US is 'not at war with Iran'
-
Trump's LA deployment in limbo after court rulings
Speed Read Judge Breyer ruled that Trump's National Guard deployment to Los Angeles was an 'illegal' overreach. But a federal appellate court halted the ruling.
-
Marines, National Guard in LA can detain Americans
speed read The troops have been authorized to detain anyone who interferes with immigration raids
-
Trump vows 'very big force' against parade protesters
Speed Read The parade, which will shut down much of the capital, will celebrate the US Army's 250th anniversary and Trump's 79th birthday
-
Smithsonian asserts its autonomy from Trump
speed read The DC institution defied Trump's firing of National Portrait Gallery Director Kim Sajet
-
Trump sends Marines to LA, backs Newsom arrest
speed read California Gov. Gavin Newsom is filing lawsuits in response to Trump's escalation of the federal response to ICE protests
-
Trump foists National Guard on unwilling California
speed read Protests erupted over ICE immigration raids in LA county