REPORT: Mitch McConnell’s Wife Elaine Held Appointments from CCP-Linked Groups While Serving in Cabinet

EXCLUSIVE: Mitch McConnell's wife @ElaineChao held appointments from CCP organizations, many of which overlapped with her two U.S. Cabinet posts.

Chao did not disclose any of the reported Chinese government positions during her January 2017 DOT secretary Senate confirmation… pic.twitter.com/kqc2d4YOu0

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 9, 2026

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Elaine Chao, who married the Kentucky Republican in 1993, has held numerous U.S. government positions since the 1980s, including serving as Department of Labor (DOL) secretary throughout President George W. Bush’s tenure and as Department of Transportation (DOT) secretary during President Donald Trump’s first term. After resigning from the Trump administration in January 2021, Chao then served on the board of EV charging company ChargePoint between 2021 and 2026, and is now listed as a distinguished fellow at the Hudson Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit.

Chao — whose Chinese name is Zhao Xiaolan — has also received at least four Chinese government positions since 2008, including within arms of a CCP influence and intelligence agency called the United Front Work Department (UFWD), according to DCNF translations of Chinese government and state media reports. Beijing uses the UFWD to steer foreign policy and “gain access to advanced foreign technology,” according to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC).

Chao did not disclose any of the reported Chinese government positions during her January 2017 DOT secretary Senate confirmation hearing, which required her to list all positions held within the last ten years.

Chao’s late sister, Angela Chao, and father, James S.C. Chao, founder of shipping firm Foremost Group, both also received Chinese government and UFWD arm positions, according to DCNF translations of Chinese government and state media reports.

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The spokesman for Chao and Foremost Group, Patrick O’Connor, denied Chao, her sister or father had held such positions.

“She has never held a position with a foreign government or acted on behalf of one. We are not aware she has met with representatives from UFWD entities,” O’Connor said after being sent Chinese government and state media photos published between 2010 and 2026 showing Chao meeting with officials from the CCP and/or UFWD. “Such a suggestion disregards her nearly five decades of faithful service to the United States and is both unfounded and deeply insulting, hurtful and racist.”

The DCNF asked O’Connor why Chao believes it is “racist” to investigate her ties to the Chinese government.

“No one seems to care when most American business or political leaders hold meetings in China, so it’s suspicious when the Daily Caller makes insinuations about a former two-time cabinet secretary of Asian descent, especially based on photos, some of which are decades old,” O’Connor said. “The secretary is a proud American who has devoted most of her professional life to serving the American people. To question her patriotism is a double standard, at best — racist, at worst.”

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WATCH: Mitch McConnell’s Wife Elaine Chao Held Appointments From Chinese Communist Party Organizations While Serving In Cabinet pic.twitter.com/v967tWNiEK

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 8, 2026

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