U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) speaks to reporters after a press conference to discuss the Epstein Files Transparency bill, directing the release of the remaining files related to the investigations into Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 3, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
(Washington, DC) – Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene accused Elaine Chao, the wife of Sen. Mitch McConnell, of being a Chinese spy during a TMZ interview, escalating Republican infighting with an explosive allegation presented without evidence.
Greene pointed to Chao’s reported travel to China and meeting with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng shortly after McConnell was hospitalized. When pressed during the interview, Greene doubled down on the accusation.
Chao is a former U.S. transportation secretary under President Trump and previously served as labor secretary under President George W. Bush. She has long faced political criticism over her family’s shipping business ties to China, but Greene’s claim went far beyond past ethics debates.
The allegation lands while questions continue around McConnell’s health and while Trump-aligned Republicans are sharpening attacks on communism and China. It also exposes the depth of the fracture between Greene and the Republican establishment she now frequently criticizes.
McConnell’s office and Chao’s representatives did not immediately provide a detailed public response in the coverage reviewed. Without evidence to support the spy claim, the comments are likely to fuel another round of backlash over the tone and direction of the party’s internal fights.
