Chao's team helped McConnell's state win its largest DOT grant

[mahatmakanejeeves]

I'll have to find out what the grant was for. $67.4 million buys a lot of something.

Hat tip, Joe.My.God:

Transportation Sec Eyed For “Unfair” $67M Fed Grant
December 17, 2019

TRANSPORTATION

Chao’s team helped McConnell’s state win its largest DOT grant
Top government watchdog raised “red flag” over decision-making process.

By TUCKER DOHERTY and TANYA SNYDER

12/17/2019 05:07 AM EST

Kentucky’s largest transportation grant application under the Trump administration benefited from a process that the government’s top watchdog said lacked “the assurance of fairness,” raising questions about whether the Department of Transportation is making decisions based on project merits or political considerations.

The $67.4 million grant application for Boone County — a rapidly growing suburban district of political importance to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the husband of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao — was initially flagged by professional staff as incomplete. But after giving the state and local officials behind the application an extra opportunity to submit missing information, Chao chose it as one of 26 grant winners out of an initial pool of 258 applicants.

The Government Accountability Office faulted the department for failing to document why the Boone County project and 41 other applicants received this extra chance to fill in holes in their submissions while 55 other incomplete applications fell out of the running. Moreover, emails obtained by POLITICO show that Boone County officials were in contact with Chao’s aide Todd Inman, a former McConnell campaign staffer known to offer extra guidance to Kentuckians with business before the secretary.
....

Chao’s alleged favoritism toward Kentucky has become a focus of scrutiny following revelations that she had designated Inman as a special point-of-contact for Kentucky officials, according to emails obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. No other state enjoyed such access to the office of the secretary, which directly handled more than $3 billion of discretionary grants in fiscal 2019. House Democrats asked DOT’s inspector general to investigate the matter, and the office of the inspector general has confirmed to POLITICO that it has opened a review.
....

[Captain Zero]

1. $67 million buys a lot of something. No kidding

They are probably repaving and widening all the roads to banks where #MoscowMitch and his wife have Russian and Chinese money sta$hed.

[dchill]

2. Thus has it ever been. Remember Ted Stevens'...

... bridge to Nowhere? Of course, his wife wasn't Secretary of Transportation. Man, THAT ought to be illegal!