Trump’s Team Denies Questionnaire Sent To Energy Department

Transitioning from one leader to another is not always the easiest process. But it looks like things are not quite as smooth-sailing as President Barack Obama wanted Americans to think.

The Washington Times noted that just recently, the Energy Department refused to provide president-elect Donald Trump and his team a list of federal employees that are working on climate change programs. White House press secretary Josh Earnest said that they are concerned that the move by Trump may have been an attempt to target civil servants and career federal government employees.

He shared, "If we had to replace the entire Department of Energy every time a new president was elected, that is certainly going to undermine the ability of those at the most senior levels to implement a coherent and effective energy policy."

However, a recent report by CNN said that Donald Trump's transition team is denying that they had a questionnaire sent to the Energy Department. An official said that the questionnaire was "not authorized or part of our standard protocol," adding that "the person who sent is has been properly counseled."

Democratic lawmakers have sent a letter to Vice President-elect Mike Pence, demanding more information on the staff that requested such energy on the Energy Department employees. The letter stated that while the new administration has been granted its right to select political appointees who share the President-Elect's views on climate change, it will be considered an abuse of authority if he uses this to retaliate against, undermine, demote or marginalize civil servants.

As Earnest put it, presidents of both parties have long abided by the principle that protection should be in place regarding the career of a civil servant as they are evaluated based on their merits in the field, not on their politics. That being said, the president-elect is expected to name former Texas Governor Rick Perry to lead the agency, which, ironically, Perry himself wanted to abolish in his 2012 presidential bid.