The Department of Energy is refusing the Trump transition team's request to name those who have worked on climate change within the department, because of concerns about what the incoming administration will do with the names. President-elect Donald Trump has denied climate change is real.
NPR's Jennifer Ludden tells our Newscast unit the request of such names was included in a 74-question document distributed to the agency's workforce. Jennifer says, "The Trump team wants the names of career employees and contractors who have attended U.N. climate talks over the past five years. It also wants emails about those meetings."
On Tuesday, the department released a statement saying the questionnaire had "unsettled" many in its workforce, that it would "be forthcoming with all [publicly] available information" but it would withhold "any individual names."
"We are going to respect the professional and scientific integrity and independence of our employees at our labs and across our department," said spokesman Eben Burnham-Snyder.
The questionnaire had been seen among employees and critics as a precursor to a purge of climate scientists from the next administration. Jennifer told Weekend Edition last Saturday:
"They're unnerved. They're concerned. They say this kind of letter is not really normal. ... [Sen. Ed Markey] sent a letter to Trump warning that if people are penalized for simply doing their jobs that it's going to amount to an 'illegal political witch hunt' -- that's a quote. The Union of Concerned Scientists ... also issued a statement saying this seems designed to intimidate workers. And they said it, quote, 'smacks of McCarthyism.' "
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Both NM Senators also blasted former Texas Gov. Perry as DOE Secretary
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M..
"The Department of Energy is New Mexico's economic lifeblood," Heinrich said in a statement. -- President-elect Trump has signaled his blatant hostility to the Department and the workforce at our National Labs by nominating someone who has proposed eliminating this entire agency. I'm not confident that Rick Perry is fully cognizant of the role that DOE plays in keeping our nuclear deterrent safe, secure and reliable. He is utterly unqualified to lead this critical agency."
U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., said in a statement: "I'm disappointed but not surprised that President-elect Trump intends to nominate as Secretary of Energy someone who once said he wants to eliminate the very agency he has been tapped to lead. Governor Perry's past comments show a lack of seriousness about the department's full mission, and I will be listening very closely to his current views on this matter."
"To win the confidence of the American people and the Senate, Governor Perry will need to demonstrate a strong understanding of these complex challenges and lay out a management vision to execute the difficult tasks before the department."
(Article changed on December 14, 2016 at 11:44)
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