WASHINGTON—The Trump administration is looking to “unleash the potential” of private investors to boost the national transportation networks that underpin the U.S. economy, transportation secretary-designate Elaine Chao plans to tell lawmakers at her confirmation hearing Wednesday.
Economic gains are being jeopardized by infrastructure “in need of repair, the specter of rising highway fatalities, growing congestion, and by a failure to keep pace with emerging technologies,” according to prepared testimony Chao plans to deliver to the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.
Chao is expected to be easily confirmed by the Senate. She was labor secretary during George W. Bush’s administration, and deputy transportation secretary under President George H.W. Bush, making her better known than some nominees. She is also the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and many senators have a personal relationship with her.
