Transportation Sec. Elaine Chao Under Fire For Reportedly Failing To Cut Ties With Construction Materials Company

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao is under fire for reportedly retaining shares in a construction materials company following a Tuesday story in The Wall Street Journal headlined she had “pledged to divest.”

Chao agreed to take a “cash payout” in April 2018 for her shares in road materials giant Vulcan Materials Co. per a January 2017 ethics agreement prior to her confirmation. She was paid in shares now worth roughly $400,000 as deferred compensation for serving on Vulcan’s board prior to her confirmation, reported WSJ. The DOT’s head ethics official said her ownership of the shares is not a conflict of interest, a DOT spokesperson said.

Chao’s 2017 ethics agreement did not require she divest from Vulcan. A DOT spokesperson said the agreement is flawed because it did not take into account how Vulcan policy dictates directors receive deferred share units, according to The WSJ. (RELATED: Trump Echoes Left-Wing Criticism With Latest Attack On Joe Biden)

“In her ethics agreement, the Secretary agreed to resign from her Board position and not participate in matters with a direct and predictable impact on Vulcan Materials, which she has followed,” a DOT spokesperson told The Daily Caller News Foundation in an email.