Ann Coulter: Trump should fire Elaine Chao to get back at McConnell

Thomas Novelly | Courier Journal

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Conservative commentator Ann Coulter said Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao should be removed from the Trump administration because of her husband's slow progress on the border wall.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a radio interview last week that funding for President Donald Trump's proposed border wall would "probably" not happen until after the mid-term elections, adding that it is "something we do have a disagreement on.”

Coulter, a fierce advocate for Trump's immigration policy and border wall, suggested on Twitter that Trump should send a message by firing Chao, McConnell's wife.

"Trump needs to fire Mitch's wife," Coulter tweeted on Tuesday. Attached to her comment was an article from the Pro-Trump outlet Breitbart.

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Coulter was a strong advocate for Trump leading up to the 2016 education but has recently turned on the president over what she has considered slow progress on Trump's border wall project.

Trump needs to fire Mitch's wife. https://t.co/2rl6cIeCCb — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) July 30, 2018

Trump threatened a government shut down in a tweet last week if the border wall was not fully funded.

"I would be willing to 'shut down' government if Democrats do not give us the votes for Border Security, which includes the Wall!" Trump tweeted on Sunday.

When asked in an interview with WHAS, McConnell said a government shutdown is "not going to happen."

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On the Senate floor Tuesday, McConnell reiterated his support of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has been under scrutiny since it was revealed the government was separating migrant families at the border.

"So my fellow Republicans and I will continue to proudly stand with ICE, stand with the rule of law, and stand with all the American families who would rather have fewer drugs and less crime in the communities where they’re raising their children.”

McConnell has been confronted by protesters in recent months over the country's immigration policies. It started in June after he and Chao were heckled outside an event in Georgetown. Chao got in the face of protesters, telling them to leave her husband alone.

Chao, who was named transportation secretary in 2016, was labor secretary under President George W. Bush.

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Thomas Novelly: tnovelly@courierjournal.com, 502-582-4465. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/tomn.