Government Energy Policy, Business and Technology

Trump Team’s Energy Questions Stir Fears of Retaliation Against Civil Servants

Government Executive: Friday’s revelation that the Trump transition team had sent a 74-item questionnaire to Energy Department employees asking about their work on climate change has prompted warnings of possible civil service law violations from lawmakers.

The Trump request, first reported by Bloomberg and Politico, is also being monitored by science associations and the Senior Executives Association.

The questionnaire, addressed to specific offices within Energy such as the Energy Information Administration, asks for such information as the identities of scientists who attended conferences on climate change and a list of all boards, commissions and working groups active in the department. Another asked, “Renewable and solar technologies are expected to need additional transmission costs above what fossil technologies need. How has EIA represented this in . . . forecasts?”

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