DOT: House Dems 'demonstrate a lack of understanding' of Asian values in Elaine Chao probe
WASHINGTON – The Department of Transportation responded Monday to House Democrats' probe into Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao's alleged conflicts of interest.
In a three-page letter, Assistant Secretary for Government Affairs Adam Sullivan said "the allegation that the Secretary has used her official position to benefit her family's business is simply false," adding that reports of potential ethics violations "demonstrate a lack of understanding" of cultural values "central to East Asian culture and families."
On Sept. 16, the Oversight Committee had sent a letter to the Department of Transportation requesting information about her alleged use of her official position to benefit her family's shipping company, Foremost Group, and initial failure to divest ownership of stock in Vulcan Materials, a construction company that received substantial funding from the Transportation Department.
The Committee cited reports in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and Politico about Chao's business interests and potential conflicts of interest. Sullivan slammed the accusations as "unfair insinuations about the Secretary's family."
The probe: House panel investigates Transportation Sec. Elaine Chao for alleged ethics violations
In response to reports about Chao's appearance with her father in Chinese media interviews with the Department of Transportation seal, Sullivan said it was "no surprise" Chao's "immigrant story" was a "focus of human interest" for media outlets and denied any appearance of impropriety.
He also denied any connection between Chao and Foremost Group and called the internal government probe into Chao's holdings in Vulcan Materials "closed."
"Of course, the Secretary is not involved with the management or the operations of Foremost Group and has no financial stake in the company," he wrote.
House Democrats said the Department had not given a full explanation for Chao's business interests.
"Unfortunately, the Department provided only generic denials and mostly public documents, but it failed to produce the majority of documents the Committee requested relating to these troubling ethics allegations," said Aryele Bradford. The Committee expects Secretary Chao to produce all of the documents in an expeditious manner and looks forward to her full cooperation in this investigation."
The probe had infuriated House Republicans, who called it a "smear."
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the top Republican on the Committee, along with Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., had criticized the Committee's probe as "an attempt to manufacture controversy to smear Secretary Chao and her family" in a Sept. 25 letter.
According to Sullivan, the Department would be responding to the House Oversight Committee's request for information and documents on a "rolling basis." His letter included additional information about Chao's financial disclosures and correspondence with ethics regulators.