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TRUMP PLAYS A FEW OF HIS GREATEST HITS: President Trump returned to some of his old favorites on Wednesday morning, blaming California mismanagement for its wildfire problems, while touting things like his rollback of environmental rules.

He even went as far as to say he won’t be giving any more federal dollars for the wildfire clean-up and restoration in the Golden State, despite the fact that the Federal Emergency Management Agency isn’t sending money, anyway, as the government remains in shutdown mode.

Getting it right on ‘Forrests’: “Billions of dollars are sent to the State of California for Forrest [sic] fires that, with proper Forrest [sic] Management, would never happen,” Trump tweeted.

“Unless they get their act together, which is unlikely, I have ordered FEMA to send no more money. It is a disgraceful situation in lives & money!”

Trump later posted a new tweet spelling forest correctly.

Regardless of the spelling, Trump is pursuing the strategy that his administration has long followed: Blaming the wildfires on forest management rather than climate change making conditions drier and hotter. Trump also did not mention that more than half of California’s forests are owned by the federal government.

The forest tweet followed a recapping of achievements both old and new, including “great jobs numbers” from last week’s labor report, reforms related to the military and veterans, strong GDP growth, tax and regulation cuts, and his U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal.

But Murkowski is getting sick of the shutdown: Energy and Natural Resources Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, appears to be getting tired of shutdown politics, saying Tuesday that it was time to open the government, and after that continue to talk about immigration.

“I think we can walk and chew gum,” Murkowski told CNN.

Murkowski also led the Alaskan delegation in sending a letter to the president, asking that he approve Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s request for a presidential disaster declaration that would open up federal aid to address the Nov. 30 earthquake and impacts caused by subsequent aftershocks.

“Approving this request would ensure that federal disaster assistance is made available to those hardest hit by the earthquake and provide much-needed aid to help individuals and communities recover from extensive and widespread damage,” Murkowski said.

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OIL AND ETHANOL INDUSTRIES RENEW HOSTILITIES OVER MANDATE: The oil and ethanol industries showed Tuesday that they are eager to renew hostilities with each other over the Environmental Protection Agency’s renewable fuel program and ethanol mandate, no matter that the government is closed.

American Petroleum Institute CEO Mike Sommers kicked things off while presenting the first State of American Energy report he’s published as head of the oil and natural gas industry’s lead trade group. In the recommendations for the EPA’s Renewable Fuel Standard, the report called for sunsetting the ethanol mandate.

Geoff Cooper, the head of the ethanol industry’s top trade group, the Renewable Fuels Association, vowed to “continue to fight” to defend the mandate.

For the oil industry, it is simple: The program, which mandates that they blend billions of gallons of corn ethanol in gasoline and costs them billions of dollars, is “outdated and broken,” while placing consumers at risk. Therefore, the program should be either killed off or “significantly overhauled,” the API report said.

But the ethanol industry says the Trump administration is remaining steadfast in its support of the mandate while approving higher blends of ethanol fuels like E15 that the oil industry opposes.

“In a time of uncertainty for our nation’s farmers, we applaud EPA for its firm commitment to keeping the president’s promise to rural communities through its support of enacting year-round E-15 by June 1,” said Leigh Claffey, spokeswoman for the pro-ethanol group Growth Energy.

E15 had been prohibited from being blended in gasoline during the summer months. The EPA said it will enact rules ending the prohibition in time for the summer driving season.

GREEN LAWSUITS MOUNT UP AMID SHUTDOWN: Environmental groups are continuing to sue the administration at a staggering clip, with at least five new legal actions in the last two weeks.

Some of the lawsuits include: A formal notice of intent to sue the EPA for failing to enforce air quality rules in Utah and Arizona; a lawsuit demanding the Interior Department release emails related to the development of a controversial management plan for saving endangered red wolves; and one against Interior for failing to protect Wolverines. Groups also filed opening briefs in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals against the Marine Corps for building a base that threatens marine mammals called Dugongs in Okinawa.  

ENVIRONMENTALISTS CALL FOR TRUMP TO CLOSE ALL NATIONAL PARKS: The National Wildlife Federation and other conservation groups called on the Trump administration on Wednesday to close all national parks and other public lands during the government shutdown “to prevent irreparable harm to our nation’s conservation heritage.”

Democrats and environmentalists have criticized the Trump administration’s decision to keep national parks open during the shutdown without sufficient staff to supervise them. Past presidential administrations have chosen to block access to parks during times of shuttered government.

Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah., the ranking member of the Natural Resources Committee, meanwhile, defended the Interior Department’s handling of the shutdown on Tuesday.

“Among one of DOI’s most public-facing and important responsibilities is the management of approximately 85 million acres of National Park Service properties,” Bishop said in a statement. “Given this vast responsibility, DOI’s efforts to resume operations to the fullest extent practicable under the law during the current partial lapse in appropriations is greatly appreciated.”

CALIFORNIA’S JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK TO CLOSE TEMPORARILY: California’s Joshua Tree National Park will temporarily close on Thursday so officials can repair damage that occurred there during the government shutdown.

The park in southern California has remained open since the shutdown began Dec. 22, however it had limited staff, leading to deteriorating conditions such as overflowing trash cans and dirty bathrooms.

In a press release Tuesday, the National Park Service said unattended visitors have damaged parts of the park.

“While the vast majority of those who visit Joshua Tree National Park do so in a responsible manner, there have been incidents of new roads being created by motorists and the destruction of Joshua trees in recent days that have precipitated the closure,” a park service press release said. “Law enforcement rangers will continue to patrol the park and enforce the closure until park staff complete the necessary cleanup and park protection measures.”

Maintenance will be paid for by park entrance fees. The park will open again possibly by the end of the week once the clean-up is complete.

EPA EMPLOYEES TO GET HALF THEIR PAYCHECKS FOR WORK DURING SHUTDOWN: Employees of the Environmental Protection Agency will receive half their paychecks for the upcoming regularly scheduled pay date on Friday because the agency remained open during the first week of the partial government shutdown.

EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler informed employees in an email Tuesday obtained by Josh that employees will earn one-half of their normal salary for the current pay period since the agency was able to use carryover funding to sustain operations.

“Some in the media have reported that EPA employees would not get any pay during the shutdown, but, as you know, EPA remained open for one additional week following the lapse in appropriations,” Wheeler said. “As a result, I want to report that EPA employees will receive one-half of their salary for a normal pay period for the week of December 23rd on the upcoming regularly scheduled pay date this week. Understandably, many staff were concerned about the complete lack of another paycheck.”

FERC’S MCNAMEE WON’T RECUSE HIMSELF ON ISSUES UNLESS THEY ‘CLOSELY RESEMBLE’ COAL BAILOUT: Recently confirmed Bernard McNamee of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission won’t recuse himself from work that addresses the resiliency of the power grid unless it “closely resembles” an Energy Department plan that he previously worked on to subsidize coal and nuclear plants.

That’s according to the guidance of FERC ethics officials, who wrote a letter to Senate Democrats this week, obtained by Utility Dive, explaining why McNamee is unlikely to recuse himself from two key FERC dockets addressing grid resiliency.

The FERC dockets represent the process for sorting through facts to determine whether coal and nuclear plants should be provided with market-based rates in order keep them from retiring.

A coalition of leading environmental groups has threatened to sue McNamee if he doesn’t recuse himself from decisions that could be used to advance Trump’s coal agenda. Senate Democrats have also urged his recusal.

McNamee previously worked for the Energy Department as it devised a proposal that FERC rejected to subsidize coal and nuclear plants.

HOUSE DEMOCRATS INTRODUCE BILLS TO BAN OFFSHORE DRILLING: A coalition of House Democrats on Tuesday introduced a suite of bills banning offshore oil and gas drilling in portions of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

“The American people don’t want oil rigs on every beach up and down our coasts, and our economy doesn’t need them,” Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, said in a statement.

Messaging before Trump’s final offshore plan: Democrats timed the bills for release on the same day to send a message to the Trump administration as it prepares to finalize its offshore oil and gas leasing plan.

The Trump administration had proposed in a draft plan to open nearly all federal waters to oil and gas drilling, but officials have since indicated they may scale back the proposal due to widespread opposition from Democrats, and even some Republicans. The Interior Department was expected to release the final plan this month, but may be delayed because of the government shutdown.

SOUTH CAROLINA’S REPUBLICAN ATTORNEY GENERAL JOINS SUIT AGAINST TRUMP FOR SEISMIC TESTING: South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, a Republican, has joined a lawsuit  against the Trump administration to stop it from allowing seismic testing in the Atlantic Ocean.

In a motion filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, Wilson said the seismic testing would “irreparably harm marine life in large numbers” and hurt communities and businesses that rely on marine life “for their economic livelihoods.”

Wilson joined with nine Democratic attorneys general to argue the Trump administration violated several federal laws in permitting five companies to do seismic surveys to explore for oil, including the Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act.

PENNSYLVANIA’S GOVERNOR SIGNS ORDER TO CUT CARBON EMISSIONS 80 PERCENT: Recently re-elected Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, signed an executive order Tuesday establishing the state’s first goal to cut carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050.

Wolf’s order, which is non-binding, aims to reduce emissions by 26 percent by 2025, based on 2005 levels.

“In the absence of leadership from the federal government on climate change, states and cities are stepping up,” Wolf said in a Twitter post.

Wolf won re-election in November after facing opposition from green groups who wanted him to do more on climate change, as he presides over a state that is one of the largest natural gas producers in the country due to the shale energy boom.

RUNDOWN

Wall Street Journal Utilities speed up closure of coal-fired power plants

Washington Post EPA moves to ban toxic paint-stripper chemical for some — but not all — uses

Politico Pro-Pruitt group took big checks in secret

Orlando Sentinel Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis takes office, vows to protect environment