President-elect Donald Trump's transition team sent a 74-question memo to managers within the Department of Energy (DOE) this week requesting, among other information, a list of all department employees and contractors who attended climate change policy conferences in recent years.
Viewed by Reuters on Friday, the document has reportedly caused alarm within the agency. "This feels like the first draft of an eventual political enemies list," said one Department of Energy employee, speaking on condition of anonymity. "When Donald Trump said he wanted to drain the swamp it apparently was just to make room for witch hunts and it's starting here at the DOE." Other information the memo requested includes emails pertaining to the climate change events and all publications penned by employees at the DOE's 17 national labs over the last three years.
Previous presidential teams have asked policy questions of agencies during their transitions, The New York Times reports, but this level of detail and the demand for specific names may be unprecedented. Still, a "lot of these questions make perfect sense," said Jonathan Levy, a former Obama deputy chief of staff for the DOE. "They have to get their heads around what responsibilities they will have and don't have. The thing that's unsettling are the questions that appear to be targeting personnel for doing public service."
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It is not known whether a similar questionnaire has been sent to other agencies. The full list of 74 questions is available here.
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