The Washington Post reports, Elaine Chao’s tenure as USDOT secretary ends Monday, January 11. The department’s general counsel, Steven Bradbury, will serve as acting secretary for the remainder of the Donald Trump administration. Chao’s January 7 resignation letter said she was “deeply troubled” by the January 6 riot at the US Capitol instigated by a Trump speech. Critics, including Congressman Gerald Connolly (D-VA), reportedly “questioned Chao’s late change of heart toward the president.” Connolly stated, “I find it mystifying, if not ironic, that prominent Republicans suddenly find that this president could behave in a way that is dangerous to democracy. . . . Elaine Chao decides she’s had it, nine days before the swearing-in of a Democratic successor? That’s quite an act of principle and courage. Where have you been?”
