Trump Team Demands Names Of Obama Administration Officials Working To Counter Extremist Groups

Last week they demanded to know who has been working on climate change and gender equality. And now this. Via Reuters:

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has asked two Cabinet departments for the names of government officials working on programs to counter violent extremism, according to a document seen by Reuters and U.S. officials.

The requests to the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security involve a set of programs that seek to prevent violence by extremists of any stripe, including recruitment by militant Islamist groups within the United States and abroad.

Reuters could not determine why the Trump team asked for these names. The Trump team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Some career officials said they feared the incoming administration may be looking to undo the work that the Obama administration has done on countering violent extremism.

“They’re picking a few issues to ask for people’s names,” said one government official who spoke on condition of anonymity, reflecting wider fears that those who worked on such issues could be marginalized by the new administration.

As you may recall, right wing sites like Breitbart have screamed with outrage when US-based “citizen militias” and similar “patriot” groups have been classified as extremist.