Missing Mitch’s Wife Drops Two Senators’ Names in Weird Flex

Mitch McConnell may be missing but his wife has once again sidestepped talking about the elephant in the room, opting instead to name-drop two of his Senate colleagues.

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In an odd social media flex given her husband’s prolonged absence, former Transport Secretary Elaine Chow shared months-old tributes from two Maine senators, Susan Collins and Angus King, who had honored her shipping magnate father for receiving an honorary degree from the Maine Maritime Academy earlier this year.

Instead, Chao highlighted the bipartisan praise her father had received in a May 2 letter from King and an April 27 page from the Congressional Record containing remarks by Collins.

“Congratulations to Dr. James S. C. Chao for receiving an honorary doctorate degree from @Maine_Maritime in recognition for his lifetime dedication and leadership in #maritime sector, #education and #philanthropy,” she wrote. “We are MMA’s first father-daughter honorary degree recipients. #Leadership.”

The post was the latest in a string of rare public appearances or media updates from Chao, who, like McConnell’s aides, has refused to answer basic questions about his health and ability to return to work.

Another fresh example emerged on Monday, when McConnell’s communications director Stephanie Penn was confronted on Capitol Hill by independent reporter Desiree Townsend.

Penn was asked whether it was fair that she and other staffers continue to be paid while Kentuckians go without representation in the Senate.

She was also asked about a letter that McConnell and fellow Kentucky Republicans signed last week urging President Donald Trump to approve a request from the state’s Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear for a major disaster declaration following devastating flooding.

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“Did he sign that July 28 letter, or was that an autopen?” Townsend asked.

“We haven’t had any updates. Is he doing better?”

Penn simply gave a wide smile and kept walking in silence.

Chao was transport secretary under the first Trump administration when McConnell was leader of the Senate and one of the most powerful people in Washington.

But after spending 30 years standing by McConnell’s side, the former transport secretary was strangely absent as her husband was taken to hospital on June 14 after a 911 emergency call at his D.C. residence.

Instead, as revealed by the Daily Beast’s politics newsletter The Swamp, she had traveled 7,500 miles across the globe to receive an honorary doctorate at China’s Shanghai Jiao Tong University on June 12 and did not deem it necessary to rush back.

Her spokesperson later told the Daily Beast that “the secretary was on a long-planned trip in China to support her family’s philanthropic endeavors” and her husband’s health “did not warrant an immediate return to the U.S.”

She has, however, appeared next to him in the only two “proof of life” photographs he has released since he disappeared from public view.

Chao also delivered a lengthy acceptance speech at a sold-out luncheon last week, where there was also no mention of McConnell.

The former transportation secretary was all smiles in a striking purple outfit and perfectly coiffed hair as a trophy for Aviation Excellence from the Aero Club of Washington on Wednesday.

The Daily Beast has reached out to McConnell and his team, just as it has for weeks, but has yet to hear back.

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