Playbook Reporter Anna Palmer: Welcome to Playbook. I’m joined by my colleague and Playbook co-author Jake Sherman to host a virtual Playbook interview with Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao to talk about her role in the recovery, how she’s handling the safety for herself and the agency, the future of airlines and her outlook on a...

CONNELLSVILLE, Pennsylvania — It is 6:59 a.m., and Amtrak’s Capitol Limited is slowly pulling up to the station here that sits along the Youghiogheny River. For many people, this little station in one of the poorest counties in Pennsylvania is their only lifeline to travel to family and friends during the travel restrictions of the...

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania — Help is on the way for airlines and airports, Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao said. During the coronavirus pandemic, the suffering is obvious to anyone who walks into an airport like this one: Pittsburgh International Airport has seen passenger traffic in and out of the facility go from 26,000 people a...

Upgrading the nation’s infrastructure is important to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, including assurance that rural areas receive equal treatment relative to metropolitan areas when funds are distributed. “I come from a rural state, and I do not believe that rural America is asking for a handout,” said Chao, who resides in Kentucky, during an interview...

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao told Transport Topics during an exclusive interview March 31 that her agency stands ready to build on the actions it already has taken to help trucking support the country through the coronavirus crisis. She expressed optimism that the federal government could soon take steps to improve the nation’s infrastructure — perhaps...

The excitement on campus was evident on January 31, as 104 graduates awaited to receive their diplomas at Winter Commencement. This was the first Maritime College graduation of the year and the new decade. Adding to the day’s anticipation was The Honorable Elaine L. Chao, U.S. Secretary of Transportation, who visited the College for the...

Nason: What are your top priorities as U.S. Secretary of Transportation? Chao: The first priority is always safety. The second priority is rebuilding and refurbishing our country’s critical infrastructure. The third priority is to prepare for the transportation systems of the future by engaging with new technologies to address legitimate public concerns about safety, security, and...

Laura: Hello, friends, I hope you are feeling well and taking some extra precaution to keep yourself and your loved ones very safe.  The uncertainty around the coronavirus is more than a little unsettling.  I am fully nestled in with my husband Joel and our kids for an extended period of precautionary social distancing, and...

Terry Branstad, of Iowa, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the People’s Republic of China. Benjamin S. Carson, Sr., of Florida, to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Elaine L. Chao, of Kentucky, to be Secretary of Transportation. Jay Clayton, of New York, to be a Member of the Securities and...

LAS VEGAS – U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao rolled out the Trump administration’s new plan to support the advancement of self-driving vehicles and AV technology Wednesday. The new guidance, dubbed AV 4.0 – which is meant to unify efforts across 38 U.S. agencies working on new vehicle technology and policies – was unveiled...