Scoop from Bloomberg news. A memo sent to the Energy Department suggests that the Trump team is trying to weed out staffers who have worked on President Barack Obama‘s agenda to combat climate change:

Advisers to President-elect Donald Trump are developing plans to reshape Energy Department programs, help keep aging nuclear plants online and identify staff who played a role in promoting President Barack Obama’s climate agenda.

The transition team has asked the agency to list employees and contractors who attended United Nations climate meetings, along with those who helped develop the Obama administration’s social cost of carbon metrics, used to estimate and justify the climate benefits of new rules. The advisers are also seeking information on agency loan programs, research activities and the basis for its statistics, according to a five-page internal document circulated by the Energy Department on Wednesday. The document lays out 65 questions from the Trump transition team, sources within the agency said.

Trump is widely expected to pick a friend of the fossil fuel industry to head the department. He’s already done so at the Environmental Protection Agency, where tabbing climate change denier Scott Pruitt, earning an attaboy from the lobbyist Dustin McDaniel.

Advertisement

p.s. Meanwhile, various news outlets are reporting that Trump has picked Goldman Sachs president and Chief Operating Officer Gary Cohn to be National Economic Council Director. Populism! Trump will continue to say weird stuff, but his election continues to bring stocking stuffers for big corporations and the rich.

Be a Part of the Fight

Step up and make a difference by subscribing or donating to the Arkansas Times, the progressive, alternative newspaper in Little Rock that's been fighting for truth for 50 years. Our tough, determined, and feisty journalism has earned us over 63,000 Facebook followers, 58,000 Twitter followers, 35,000 Arkansas blog followers, and 70,000 daily email blasts, all of whom value our commitment to holding the powerful accountable. But we need your help to do even more. By subscribing or donating, you'll not only have access to all of our articles, but you'll also be supporting our efforts to hire more writers and expand our coverage. Join us in the fight for truth by subscribing or donating to the Arkansas Times today.

Previous article Longtime KARK anchor Beth Ward dies Next article Rep. Kim Hendren files bill to ban cell phones in public school