From Newsweek: Mitch McConnell, Elaine Chao lambasted by ethics experts for possible conflicts of interest
Elaine Chao reportedly helped secure millions of dollars in federal money requested by her husband, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, for his home state of Kentucky by using her official capacity as secretary of the Department of Transportation, a move that ethics officials have lambasted and even consider impeachable.
Around the time of his 2020 reelection campaign announcement in April and in the run-up to it, McConnell was able to get at least $78 million in federal funds approved for local projects, in large part thanks to a role created for one of Chao's aides, who then operated as an intermediary between her office and that of McConnell, according to Politico.
The revelations have raised conflicts of interest concerns among ethics experts, with at least one going so far as to suggest Chao should be removed from office.