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Energy Dept. survey by Trump transition targets staff on climate issues

Washington Post: “The transition team has asked department officials to identify which employees have worked on forging an international climate pact, raising concerns that Donald Trump’s team may be singling out people who have helped implement certain policies under President Obama….The Trump transition team has issued a list of 74 questions for the Energy Department, asking officials there to identify which department employees and contractors have worked on forging an international climate pact as well as domestic efforts to cut the nation’s carbon output…”

  • Related Video – Trump transition team for Energy Department seeks names of employees involved in climate meetings
  • Senator Markey Decries Possible “Witch Hunt” for Dept. of Energy Staff, Scientists Working on Clean Energy and Climate Change Policies – Trump transition team has requested names of agency staff and contractors who worked on climate policies, attended international climate conferences. “Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee and chair of the Senate Climate Clearinghouse, today sent a letter to President-elect Donald Trump with serious concerns about media reports that his transition team requested that the Department of Energy (DOE) provide a list of employees and contractors who helped develop the current administration’s energy and climate policies. In his letter, Senator Markey notes that if any of the information that is collected on staff, contractors and scientists who attended sanctioned meetings or worked on administration policies is used to terminate, demote, or otherwise discriminate against employees whose only action was to execute the directives of their supervisors, the new Trump administration would be in violation of U.S. law. “Any politically motivated inquisition against federal civil servants who, under the direction of a previous administration, carried out policies that you now oppose, would call into question your commitment to the rule of law and the peaceful transition of power,” writes Senator Markey in his letter to President-elect Trump. “Civil servants should never be punished for having executed policies with which a new administration disagrees. That would be tantamount to an illegal modern-day political witch hunt, and would have a profoundly chilling impact on our dedicated federal workforce.” A copy of Senator Markey’s letter can be found HERE.”
  • Washington Post – Energy Dept. rejects Trump’s request to name workers – “Scientists are unsure about what President-elect Donald Trump might do to those whose work has been in line with global warming and the Obama administration, which has spoken about “the urgent imperatives of climate change.”

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