Former President Trump on Saturday called his former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao “crazy” and accused her and her family of working to “get rich on China.”
Trump’s attack came in a Truth Social post knocking Chao’s husband, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), for saying the GOP might face a tight race to flip the Senate, in part due to “candidate quality.”
“Why do Republicans Senators allow a broken down hack politician, Mitch McConnell, to openly disparage hard working Republican candidates for the United States Senate,” Trump wrote.
“This is such an affront to honor and to leadership. He should spend more time (and money!) helping them get elected, and less time helping his crazy wife and family get rich on China!”
The Hill has reached out to Chao and McConnell for comment.
Chao’s father founded the Chinese shipping company Foremost Group, and her sister is the CEO.
Though Chao has no formal ties to the business, she and McConnell both faced questions over her potential conflicts of interest during her time in the White House and whether she used government resources to support her family’s business.
Appointed by Trump in 2017, Chao reportedly didn’t disclose her family’s affiliation with Foremost Group during her confirmation hearing.
A key point of concern was Chao’s continued media appearances with her father even after assuming office, which her team reportedly countered were opportunities to share her story as the first Chinese American and Asian American woman to hold a Cabinet position.
Chao split her support when her husband and boss began feuding during Trump’s time in office, reportedly saying, “I stand by my man — both of them.”
Chao resigned after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. After her resignation, the Justice Department declined to pursue an ethics probe into how she used her position.
Trump has lambasted McConnell as “disloyal,” though the minority leader has said he’d back the former president in 2024 if Trump were to win the Republican presidential nomination.
McConnell has been managing midterm expectations in recent weeks, saying on Thursday that Republicans have a better chance of flipping the House than the Senate.
“I think there’s probably a greater likelihood the House flips than the Senate. Senate races are just different — they’re statewide, candidate quality has a lot to do with the outcome,” he said.
His comments came after a number of Trump-backed candidates won the GOP nomination in key battleground states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania and Georgia.