Elaine Chao stands by her man — 'both of them'

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said Tuesday that she stood by both her husband and President Donald Trump, despite the public feud that has erupted between the two in recent weeks.

“I stand by my man, both of them,” Chao said when, appearing with the president in New York, she was asked at a news conference on transportation policy whether she agreed with Trump’s statements slamming the work of her husband, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.


Trump has recently decried Senate Republicans’ inability to push through their party’s major legislative items, including health care and tax reform. Trump has been particularly critical of McConnell’s leadership, openly griping about the failure to repeal Obamacare.

McConnell seemingly angered Trump last week when he said the president “had excessive expectations about how quickly things happen in the democratic process.”

Trump rebuffed him on Twitter two days later, writing: “Senator Mitch McConnell said I had ‘excessive expectations,’ but I don't think so. After 7 years of hearing Repeal & Replace, why not done?”

POLITICO Playbook newsletter Sign up today to receive the #1-rated newsletter in politics Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

The president added, while addressing the news media from his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey, that he found it “unacceptable” that McConnell and other Senate Republicans were unable to push through legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

Chao’s comments came on the heels of a heated exchange between Trump and the press in which the president staunchly defended his initial response to the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., over the weekend.

