Elaine Chao 'sure-footed' in Cabinet post

In her new office on the top floor of the US Department of Transportation near the Washington Navy Yard, Elaine Chao feels confident and sure-footed.

Chao became the 18th US secretary of transportation after winning Senate confirmation in a 93-6 vote on Jan 31.

It is the second time for her to serve in a Cabinet. She was the 24th US labor secretary for eight years under President George W. Bush. She also served as deputy secretary of transportation under President George H. W. Bush from 1989 to 1991.

Chao said she knows the department well and has been through government transitions before. "So I know how to establish a new government, the new administration, and I am very sure-footed, very confident," she told China Daily in her office on Tuesday.

US President Donald Trump has proposed to the Congress a $1 trillion infrastructure budget for the next 10 years. Chao hopes some aspects of the improvements in infrastructure will be evident. "But it will be evident itself over 10 years," she said.

She believes that infrastructure is a less divisive and more bipartisan issue. "I think this is a very good time for this project to go forward because both sides understand that our infrastructure is deteriorating and we need to have better infrastructure for our country to be economically vibrant and to remain competitive," she said.

The American Society of Civil Engineers gave the US infrastructure an overall grade of D-plus earlier this month, the same grade it received in 2013.

Chao described President Trump as very committed to rebuilding the US infrastructure. "It is a very important task and he has entrusted me and several other Cabinet officers with this responsibility," she said.

She said that it is a White House initiative and will include other Cabinet officers, including the secretaries of treasury, commerce, energy, interior, agriculture, as well as the directors of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Office of Management and Budget.

"So there will be a group of us, the whole Cabinet who will be working on the infrastructure initiative," Chao said, explaining that infrastructure also requires permission to build.

Her three goals on the new job are to ensure safety, make the US infrastructure strong and competitive and to adapt to new technologies.

Her day starts early, often at 4 am when she begins checking emails and newspapers. She arrives at her office around 8 am for a staff meeting.

She admitted that she and her husband, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, don't have much time with each other, but they do try to coordinate their schedules.

"Our general goal is we try to have dinner together every night," said Chao, who turned 64 on Sunday.

They've hit a number of glitches over the past month when their schedules have not matched. "But that's part of the transition period," she explained.

With a hectic schedule for the couple, Chao said, "It's a very exciting life. It's a very fulfilling life."

Her father, James S.C. Chao, came to the US alone until his family joined him three years later. They lived in a one-bedroom apartment in Queens, New York. Elaine Chao didn't receive her US citizenship until she was 19.

She believes that if you want to do better, you have to work hard. "You also have to have a bit luck," she said.

Chao praised her parents for their philosophy of helping others and living a modest and humble lifestyle. Her mother, Ruth Mulan Chu Chao, passed away in 2007.

Her father, sitting next to her in her office on Tuesday, praised her for being a good daughter. He said she calls him every night.

"It's not easy to be a good cabinet secretary, it's more difficult to be a good daughter," said the 89-year-old father, founder of the Foremost Group, a New York-based shipping, trading and finance company.

Yuan Yuan contributed to the reporting.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com