When it comes to grants, one state has the attention of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao above all others.
"In her first 14 months as Transportation secretary, Elaine Chao met with officials from Kentucky, which her husband Mitch McConnell represents in the Senate, vastly more often than those from any other state," report Tanya Snyder, Tucker Doherty, and Arren Kimbel-Sannit.
"In all, 25 percent of Chao’s scheduled meetings with local officials of any state from January 2017 to March 2018 were with Kentuckians, who make up only about 1.3 percent of the U.S. population. The next closest were Indiana and Georgia, with 6 percent of meetings each, according to Chao’s calendar records, the only ones that have been made public."
Thanks to records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, the reporters are also able to reveal a lot more about the magic words for earning a meeting with the Transportation secretary.
According to the article, official from states other than Kentucky have complained that the state represented by Secretary Chao's husband in the U.S. Senate is getting special treatment—a claim which has been refuted by department officials throughout Chao's tenure.
FULL STORY: Elaine Chao favored Kentuckians in meeting with officials seeking grants
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