EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s ethical challenges piling up

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is facing heat for his first-class travel, huge raises for top aides and the rental of an D.C. apartment from a lobbyist. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's ethical challenges piling up EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is facing heat for his first-class travel, huge raises for top aides and the rental of an D.C. apartment from a lobbyist.

White House refuses to defend EPA chiefa s conduct

In a marked change in tone, the White House says President Donald Trump is not OK with recent revelations involving the embattled head of the Environmental Protection Agency. For his part, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is denying he knew about big raises given to two of his closest aides and insisting he did nothing wrong in renting a bargain-priced condo tied to an energy lobbyist.

White House changes tone on EPA chief, reviewing his conduct

Esta foto del 3 de abril del 2018 muestra al admnistrador de la Agencia de Proteccion Ambiental de Estados Unidos, Scott Pruitt, mientras hace declaraciones en Washington. ARCHIVO - Esta foto del 3 de abril del 2018 muestra al admnistrador de la Agencia de Proteccion Ambiental de Estados Unidos, Scott Pruitt, mientras hace declaraciones en Washington.

EPA chief gets support from Trump, warning from White House

President Donald Trump offered a measured gesture of support for Environmental Protection Agency Secretary Scott Pruitt, but those words of encouragement also came with a White House warning about the ethical questions surrounding his travel spending and ties to Washington lobbyists. "I hope he's going to be great," Trump told reporters Tuesday, declining to reiterate publicly his private praise for Pruitt's work.

EPA chief’s job not assured after Trump’s praise – and ire

Esta foto del 3 de abril del 2018 muestra al admnistrador de la Agencia de ProtecciA3n Ambiental de Estados Unidos, Scott Pruitt, mientras hace declaraciones en Washington. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, center, winks at National Automobile Dealers Association president and CEO Peter Welch, right, as he takes the podium to speak at a news conference at the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, Tuesday, April 3, 2018, on his decision to scrap Obama administration fuel standards.

As pressure over his scandals builds, Scott Pruitt blacklists reporters from EPA announcement

Reporters from Politico , Buzzfeed, and other outlets noted that Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt barred them from his April 3 announcement about loosening automobile fuel economy standards. Pruitt is currently under fire for a slew of scandals and seemingly corrupt activities, including a sweetheart deal he got to rent a D.C. condo from the wife of an energy lobbyist.

EPA to ease back emissions standards

Environmental regulators announced on Monday they will ease emissions standards for cars and trucks, saying that a timeline put in place by President Obama was not appropriate and set standards "too high." The Environmental Protection Agency said it completed a review that will affect vehicles for model years 2022-2025.

Dietary Supplement & Cosmetics Legal Bulletin | April 2018

The Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2018 would apply to facilities that manufacture or process cosmetic products but would exempt most retailers, salons and research and testing facilities. The Senate committee, led by Sens. Lamar Alexander and Patty Murray , indicated in a The amendment would require manufacturers and distributors to report "serious adverse events" - including death, hospitalization, persistent disability, or significant disfigurement - to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services within 15 days.

Swampy McSwampface: EPA Chief Ruining Environment Living in Polluter Lobbyist Condo

As key figures of the Trump administration face mounting concerns about conflicts of interest, a growing number of critics are calling for the resignation of Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt after ABC News revealed that last year he rented a D.C. condo owned by the wife of a top energy lobbyist, in what some are describing as "a sweetheart deal." "This deal stinks like the swamp Scott Pruitt is mired in.

NYT: EPA expected to roll back fuel economy rules for cars

The Environmental Protection Agency has handed documents to Congress that show new travel expenses from agency administrator Scott Pruitt, totaling some $68,000 in hotel stays and air travel, The Washington Post reported Tuesday. The Environmental Protection Agency has handed documents to Congress that show new travel expenses from agency administrator Scott Pruitt, totaling some $68,000 in hotel stays and air travel, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.

Trump officials prepare to undo fuel-efficiency targets despite some automakers’ misgivings

Top Trump administration officials are engaged in a heated debate over how to undo federal fuel-efficiency targets for cars and light trucks, as manufacturers voice concern that a major rollback of an Obama-era rule could go too far and fracture the nation's auto market. The internal negotiations over relaxing carbon-emission limits for cars and SUVs slated to be sold in model years 2022-2025 underscore the challenge officials face in trying to fulfill President Trump's 2017 promise to ease the regulatory burden on Detroit.

California is main stage for Trump’s auto emissions standard rollback battle

California is on the front lines of President Donald Trump's efforts to rollback car and light truck emissions standards as a battle brews between the administration and state officials. Trump's presidency has made for an interesting dynamic in California where state officials are taking action to drastically reduce air pollution in order to protect the health of its residents and fight climate change.

Air of Uncertainty: DOJ involved in controversial plant emitting ‘likely carcinogen’

Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality documents and sources have revealed the Federal Justice Department is involved in an ongoing issue concerning the Denka manufacturing plant in Laplace. The Environmental Protection Agency classifies chloroprene as likely carcinogen and says the chloroprene emissions coming from the Denka Performance Elastomer facility put people who live and work nearby at the highest risk of developing cancer in the nation.

What swamp? Lobbyists get ethics waivers to work for Trump

President Donald Trump and his appointees have stocked federal agencies with ex-lobbyists and corporate lawyers who now help regulate the very industries from which they previously collected paychecks, despite promising as a candidate to drain the swamp in Washington. A week after his January 2017 inauguration, Trump signed an executive order that bars former lobbyists, lawyers and others from participating in any matter they lobbied or otherwise worked on for private clients within two years before going to work for the government.

Dems: Did EPA security staffer steer contract to associate? Source: AP

Senate Democrats are pressing Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt on whether a key member of his taxpayer-funded security team improperly steered a government contract to a personal business associate. The Associated Press reported in December that EPA paid $3,000 to Edwin Steinmetz Associates to have Pruitt's office swept for hidden listening devices.