Trump team disavows survey seeking names of climate workers
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US President-elect Donald Trump's transition team on Wednesday disavowed a survey sent to the US Department of Energy that requested the names of people working on climate change in the agency.
"The questionnaire was not authorized or part of our standard protocol," Trump spokesman Sean Spicer said. "The person who sent it has been properly counseled." Spicer declined to comment further on the team's protocols.
The survey of 74 questions, which the Energy Department received last Tuesday, asked for the names of workers and contractors who had attended U.N. climate meetings. It also asked for the names of those who had attended meetings on the social cost of carbon, a metric that federal agencies use in formulating regulations on the energy business. The department had balked at the survey on Monday, saying it would not comply. A department spokesperson said on Wednesday that the Trump team's disavowal hopefully signals the return to a smooth transition at the agency.
