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TRUMP ADMITS PRUITT NOT ‘BLAMELESS,’ BUT DOING A ‘GREAT JOB’ ANYWAY: President Trump said Friday that Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt is not “blameless” for the scandals that have preoccupied him for the last several months, but said Pruitt is still doing a “great job.”

• ‘Attacked viciously’: “Scott Pruitt is doing a great job within the walls of EPA, I mean we’re setting records,” Trump told reporters before leaving for the G7 meeting in Canada. “Outside, he is being attacked very viciously by the press. And I’m not saying that he is blameless, but we’ll see what happens.”

• Not a good sign: While White House officials indicate that the president is not considering firing Pruitt, Trump sometimes has signaled that officials who work for him may soon lose their jobs by saying “we’ll see what happens.”

REPUBLICANS LOSING PATIENCE WITH PRUITT: Still, Republican lawmakers are becoming more frustrated with Pruitt’s stewardship of taxpayer dollars and potential abuse of his office.

• ‘Unforced errors’: “Administrator Pruitt’s unforced errors are increasingly distracting from the otherwise great work the EPA is doing under his leadership,” Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., who leads the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee overseeing the EPA, told Josh Thursday.

• Practical reasons: But few Republicans are willing to buck Trump and call for Pruitt’s resignation. Some of that reticence is practical. They expect a difficult nomination fight for any replacement.

“Senate Democrats’ historic obstruction of President Trump’s nominees is probably another reason Mr. Pruitt remains where he is,” Shimkus said.

• ‘Nitpicking’: After a week of more revelations of Pruitt’s peculiar decisions, some allies are accusing the media of picking on the EPA head to derail his deregulatory agenda.

“Scott Pruitt is a prime example of what Teddy Roosevelt described as the ‘man in the arena.’ He is a target because he is keeping President Trump’s campaign promises to rein in the EPA,” Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., told Josh Thursday. “I have confidence in him because he has been highly effective. The criticisms against him amount to nothing more than nitpicking.”

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PRUITT’S SECURITY DETAIL PICKED UP DRY CLEANING, BODY LOTION: Pruitt tasked members of his round-the-clock security detail to run errands for him, including picking up his dry cleaning and helping him obtain moisturizing lotion, according to a report Thursday.

• Smooth operator: On one occasion, Pruitt directed security agents to drive him to multiple locations so he could find a favored lotion provided by Ritz-Carlton hotels.

The revelations are another example of how Pruitt has used agency staff for personal tasks, including trying to obtain a used mattress for him from the Trump International Hotel in Washington.

• The rub: Federal rules say public officials cannot receive gifts from subordinates, including unpaid services. The rules also prevent them from using their office for private gain.

STAFFERS FETCHED HIM SNACKS AND COFFEE, TOO: Staff members at the EPA say Pruitt assigned subordinates to fetch him snacks along with the other remedial errands.

Pruitt reportedly asks staffers to grab him an array of various items including Greek yogurt, protein bars and pour-over coffee at least twice a week.

According to four sources who spoke to the Daily Beast, he would demand his staff members run the errands on a “frequent” to “constant” basis.

An EPA spokesman called the reports a distraction.

TRUMP SKIPS CLIMATE CHANGE TALKS AT G7: Trump plans to leave the Group of Seven conference in Quebec earlier than anticipated, which means he would miss a part of the meeting focused on climate change.

• Hello and goodbye: The White House announced Thursday night that Trump is set to leave Saturday morning to Singapore to begin prepping for a meeting with North Korea.

• Bash and dash: On Friday, Trump called out Canada for its unfair trade practices on Twitter. He also slammed French President Emmanuel Macron on trade ahead of meeting him Friday.

• One will remain: The White House said a senior aide will attend the environment and climate discussions in Trump’s absence.

NEVER MIND THE WAR ON COAL, THERE’S A ‘WAR ON ENERGY’: The White House says Trump is no longer just ending the war on coal, he’s ended the war on energy.

That was one of the ideas the administration conveyed to reporters Friday ahead of Trump’s trip to the G-7 summit

• No wars: “The war against business is over. The war against success is over. The war against energy is over,” White House National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow. “We have now freed up the animal spirits.”

• Keep rolling: “We’re rolling. The U.S. economy is rolling.”

Kudlow was answering a question about what happens after Trump’s tariffs take effect.

• Supply and demand: “Well, you know, supply and demand, and global markets subject to macroeconomic factors, that stuff is pretty hard to predict,” he said. “But I think it is reasonable to assume that if our neighbors and allies, and whoever, lower their trade barriers, we will export significantly more, frankly, across the board.”

• Tax breaks and deregulation: “The United States economy is going through a very positive transformation right now,” driven by lower tax rates and the rollback of regulations.   

• Export opportunity: “So if you give us a chance, foreign countries, we will fill that bill,” he said. “We will increase export sales in a significant way.”

Energy exports are a key area of opportunity to lessen the trade deficits with countries, according to the administration. The White House wants China and others to buy more U.S. natural gas and coal.

ZINKE FAILS TO PERSUADE ARIZONA NOT TO REPLACE GIANT COAL PLANT: The Central Arizona Project Board on Thursday voted to replace a large coal plant in the state, not persuaded by the Interior Department that it doesn’t have the authority to do so.

“We don’t understand why the board would deliberately execute a more expensive power agreement when the Department of Interior has called into question its legal authority to even consider taking power from other sources,” said Sydney Hay, the chairman of a coalition fighting to keep the Navajo Generating Station open. “Nor do we understand why would it take an action that it knows will negatively impact tribal families. Lives depend on these operations.”

• Largest coal plant in West: The Navajo Generating Station is the largest coal plant in the West, but its owners say it can’t compete with lower-cost natural gas and want to retire it.

• Zinke tried to help: Last year, Zinke got the board to hold off on the decision until 2019, since his agency owns a 25 percent stake in the plant, but the Arizona board wants to acquire other sources of energy in the meantime.

• Interior’s case: Interior argued in a letter it sent this week that because the plant was built as the sole source of power to pump water into the central part of the state, federal law and Zinke’s authority should hold sway over any quick decision to replace the plant.

• Vote for natural gas: The board instead voted unanimously to move forward on two power purchase agreements that, when taken together with other commitments, mean nearly half of Central Arizona’s power would come from sources outside the Navajo Generating Station.

A company looking to buy the plant in 2019, Middle River Power, told the board that it could take over operations and deliver electricity at lower cost. But that argument failed to persuade board members.

PRUITT PROPOSES CHANGING HOW EPA EVALUATES COST OF CARBON POLLUTION: The EPA proposed a rule Thursday that would change the way the agency calculates the costs and benefits of regulations.

The agency issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking, allowing it to weigh public input on whether it should establish new agency-wide standards for how regulations are assessed. It will take public comment for 60 days.

• Tipping the scales: Some conservatives have argued the Obama administration exaggerated the cost of carbon emissions and underestimated the impact of regulations to state and local economies.

“Many have complained that the previous administration inflated the benefits and underestimated the costs of its regulations through questionable cost-benefit analysis,” Pruitt said.

• Science lacking: But critics of Pruitt say his agency purposely downplayed the benefits of reducing carbon emissions to justify his repeal of the Clean Power Plan.

Democratic attorneys general who have sued the EPA say the agency has been shoddy in backing up its decisions with data and science justifying why regulations should be weakened or eliminated.

EPA NARROWS SAFETY EVALUATIONS OF TOXIC CHEMICALS: The EPA is narrowing how it determines health and safety risks of chemicals, the New York Times reported Thursday, citing agency documents it obtained.

Democrats say the move contradicts a law Congress passed by bipartisan margins during the last year of the Obama administration, requiring the EPA, under new authority, to evaluate hundreds of chemicals to determine if they should face restrictions or be removed from the market.

• Violating fix to ‘broken law’: Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico and Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey, who led passage of the 2016 law, said the EPA is ignoring its directive for a comprehensive analysis of risks.

The law was the first overhaul to the nation’s chemical laws in nearly 40 years.

• Narrow review: The EPA is beginning to review the first batch of 10 chemicals, excluding from its consideration indirect exposure to the substances, including their presence in the air, ground, and water. The agency will evaluate only direct exposure to the chemicals, which include dry-cleaning solvents, paint strippers, and substances used in shampoos and cosmetics.

The process means the EPA in most cases won’t factor improper disposal of chemicals, which can lead to the contamination of drinking water, in deciding whether to restrict or ban them.

• Friends in high places: The chemical industry had lobbied for the changes, pressing for a more limited scope for risk evaluations. Nancy Beck, a political appointee who helps lead the EPA’s toxic chemical unit, previously worked as an executive at the American Chemistry Council, the main lobbying group.

ENERGY DEPARTMENT DISPUTES THAT COAL BAILOUT MEANT TO ‘PUNISH’ NATURAL GAS: The Energy Department fought back Thursday at accusations from natural gas advocates that the agency’s effort to save coal and nuclear plants is intended to punish America’s cheapest fuel resource.

“The assertion that this administration is attempting to ‘punish’ natural gas is absurd,’’ said department spokeswoman Shaylyn Hynes. “DOE views natural gas as a vital part of our energy mix.”

• Globe trotter: Hynes cited the department’s work in expanding natural gas exports to nearly 30 countries and Secretary Rick Perry’s global travels to promote the fuel.

“The boom of this industry in recent years has been a game changer and the department will continue to support this sector for years to come,” Hynes said.

• ‘Scapegoat’: She was responding to the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, a pipeline group that said Thursday said it is “deeply troubled” by the Trump administration’s effort to “scapegoat” natural gas by saving financially struggling coal and nuclear plants.

• Money matters: Boosting coal and nuclear plants would take market share from natural gas, which is beating out the legacy fuel sources in competitive wholesale power markets because of its low price.

HOUSE VOTES TO STOP USING PLASTIC STRAWS: The House late Thursday voted to ban the use of plastic drinking straws from its cafeterias, in an effort to raise awareness about the environmental damage straws can create when thrown away.

Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., offered his proposal as an amendment to an energy and water bill that should be passed Friday.

• GOP neutral: No Republican raised an objection, and Rep. Rod Frelinghuysen, R-N.J., said Republicans had no objection to the language. It then quickly passed in an uncontested voice vote.

• Stir the drink: The vote is the latest move against plastic straws in the last few weeks. New York City is considering a ban on plastic straws to cut down on the amount of plastic trash, and several other cities have already taken that step.

TRUMP TRANSMISSION PLAN REBUFFED: The House also included an amendment opposing Trump’s proposed sale of government-owned transmission line assets. The issue has become a bipartisan wedge against Trump’s radical idea, which critics say would harm the economic viability of federal utilities that manage the assets.

• Yucca rider shot down: Meanwhile, the Nevada delegation got slammed in its attempt to block funding for Yucca Mountain.

ANTI-CLIMATE CAMP OFFERS SCOTT PRUITT HELP IN MEETING COURT ORDER: Pruitt is receiving help from well-known climate skeptics in meeting the demands of a court order to provide the basis for a statement he made that climate change is not man-made.

• 3,000 pages: The Heartland Institute shipped copies of its 3,000-page “Climate Change Reconsidered” series of reports to Pruitt on Thursday, with a letter from the group’s president advising the EPA chief to use the documents in complying with the court’s June 1 order.

• Court order: The D.C. District Court ordered Pruitt to back up claims he made in a CNBC interview last year that carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels are not the primary contributor to climate change.

RHEA SUH’S RESISTANCE: The climate “resistance” is strong, the head of one of largest environmental groups told supporters in a message Thursday.

• The thrill: “I’m thrilled to tell you it’s being met by a forceful and optimistic resistance across our country — and that NRDC is playing a pivotal role in the newest, boldest initiative yet to help meet America’s Paris climate commitments,” wrote Rhea Suh, the president of the Natural Resource Defense Council.

• Cities pushing: The new effort is a partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies named “American Cities Climate Challenge,” which she called a “groundbreaking chance for America’s biggest cities to access world-class resources and expertise that will help them tackle climate change in America.”

• Climate fight goes to towns: Cities account for more than two-thirds of energy use worldwide, “so we can’t fight climate change without making our cities greener.”

INTERIOR ORDERS OIL AND GAS RUSH ON FEDERAL LANDS: The Interior Department quietly issued a new policy this week to expedite review and approval of natural gas and crude oil projects on federal lands.

• Industry is ready: The oil industry praised the effort Thursday as removing unnecessary obstacles to energy develop.  

• Obstacles: “Removing unnecessary obstacles to safe and responsible energy development will effectively promote U.S. job growth, domestic oil and natural gas production, revenues for federal, state and tribal governments, and strengthen our national security,” said Erik Milito, the head of upstream development with the American Petroleum Institute.

• Let’s get to work: “Our industry produces 10.5 million barrels per day of oil and is committed to submitting detailed information necessary for approval to safely explore and produce natural gas and oil,” he added.

• Efficiency is the reason: The action by the Bureau of Land Management “promotes efficiency and clarity in the approval process to allow communities across the country to fully benefit from America’s energy renaissance,” Milito said.  

RUNDOWN

Wall Street Journal Exxon to show its green side in meeting with Pope Francis

Bloomberg Coal rallies to six-year high as heatwave fires up China demand

New York Times An oil auction brings Brazil a needed boost

Bloomberg Amid Trump’s solar scorn, U.S. backs a $1 billion Africa project

USA Today GM, Honda sign deal to develop batteries for electric vehicles