On Tuesday, the Transportation Department’s inspector general sent a letter outlining its investigation of allegations that Chao used her office and staff to help benefit her family’s international shipping business.
The Foremost Group is a shipping business founded by James Chao, Elaine Chao’s father. The family business primarily revolves around China, necessitating the ties between the Chao family and China’s political elites. The China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), a subsidiary of China’s largest defense contractor, manufactures ships for the Foremost Group.
