Details You Didn't Know About Mitch McConnell And Elaine Chao's Marriage

April 2024 · 1 minute read

Mitch McConnell and Elaine Chao have a mutual friend — and their assistants — to thank for their union. "It literally was a blind date, 'cause I had never seen her before," McConnell recalled to CBS News in 2016. Chao concurred, remembering, "I just got this call, I think, out of the blue from Mitch's assistant. I think my assistant answered back to his assistant. And that's how the first date was set up."

The couple said "I do" in a small, private ceremony on Feb. 6, 1993, a date that was special for a few reasons. Not only was it Ronald Reagan's birthday, but it was also shortly before a Senate recess, according to The Washington Post. The date was also chosen because Chao "insisted on getting married before she turned 40," per The Washington Post, a deadline approaching in March of that year. 

In November 2014, more than two decades after they wed, Time magazine referred to Chao as McConnell's "secret weapon" on the campaign trail. According to the outlet, McConnell suffered from polio as a child, leaving him "tender and averse to backslapping." Apparently, Chao has filled in his weak spot, earning the nickname of the "campaign hugger."

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