Overnight Energy: Ethics office scolds Pruitt | Some Republicans rally round EPA chief | Perry might not issue grid emergency order | Apple hits renewable energy milestone

View in your browser     ETHICS HEAD WANTS EPA TO ACT ON PRUITT CONTROVERSIES: The federal government's top ethics official scolded Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Scott Pruitt Monday and pushed the agency to investigate and, if necessary, take action against him. The rare letter to Kevin Minoli, head of ethics at EPA, sounds alarm bells over multiple recent controversies Pruitt is at the center of, like his housing rental from a lobbyist last year and reports that he enlisted an aide to help him apartment shop. David Apol, acting director of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE), told Minoli that Pruitt's actions "raise concerns and may constitute a violation of the States of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch" as well as President Trump's ethics pledge. "The American public needs to have confidence that ethics violations, as well as the appearance of ethics violations, are investigated and appropriately addressed," Apol wrote in the letter. Apol's letter focuses on three areas: Pruitt's housing rental from the wife of an energy lobbyist for $50 a day; his taxpayer-funded travel that has taken him home to Oklahoma and a report that EPA staffers who questioned Pruitt's spending or management were punished. "If true, it is hard to imagine any action that could more effectively undermine an agency's integrity than punishing or marginalizing employees who strive to ensure compliance with the laws and regulations that safeguard that integrity," Apol wrote. Read more.   Why it matters ... or does it? Apol, who the White House tapped to lead OGE last year after Walter Shaub's exit, doesn't have the ability to punish Pruitt. Instead, the office acts as more of a watchdog, relying on agencies or the White House to take action on its recommendations. But the letter nonetheless shows that Pruitt's actions could have real implications in terms of compliance with laws, regulations or Trump's ethics pledge. The EPA's inspector general is investigating at least some of the allegations against Pruitt, and the Government Accountability Office is also looking into some of them.   Barrasso backs Pruitt: Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said Monday that he's taking a wait-and-see approach on the Pruitt controversies, but he welcomes the EPA chief's policy actions. "Administrator Pruitt has accomplished key priorities as head of the EPA. With the support of the president, he has been instrumental in returning the agency to its original mission. American workers are benefiting from his reversal of punishing regulations," Barrasso said in a statement. "Certain questions have been raised about internal operations of the agency and the administrator's actions. The White House has indicated it has taken on a formal review of these questions. I will wait for the outcome of that process." Read more.   What it means: Barrasso is taking the same strategy that many Republicans in Congress and conservative activists are: cheering Pruitt's accomplishments without directly defending his actions in the controversies. So far, it's working. Trump is supporting Pruitt for the time being and showing no signs that he'll changing his mind. Click here for more on the Republican lawmakers rallying around Pruitt.   Email suggests Pruitt knew about raises: An internal EPA email seems to show Pruitt knew about at least one of the raises that the agency gave to two top Pruitt staffers last month after the White House asked it not to, The Atlantic reports. Pruitt told Fox News' Ed Henry that he didn't know about the raises until last week, and he immediately worked to stop them. But Sarah Greenwalt, Pruitt's senior counsel, reportedly sent an email to a human resources staffer saying Pruitt had blessed her raise. "It's an 'oh, shit' moment that they're trying to figure out before the IG finds the email," an administration official told the Atlantic. "Because it'll be damn near impossible to have Sarah explain her way out of it." Ryan Jackson, Pruitt's chief of staff, said Pruitt "had zero knowledge of the amount of the raises, nor the process by which they transpired." Read more.   Duckworth: EPA broke the law if Pruitt didn't know: Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) -- who gave birth Monday -- said the EPA broke the law if Pruitt wasn't aware of the raises. The section of the Safe Drinking Water Act that allows for the raises gives the authority to the administrator, she wrote in a letter to the GAO, asking for an investigation. "If Administrator Pruitt did not make false and misleading statements in his television interview, then it appears the EPA violated the Antideficiency Act when finalizing the two appointments without the knowledge, involvement or approval of the EPA administrator," she wrote.   Sanders: White House is still reviewing the Pruitt allegations: White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday that officials are still investigating the allegations against Pruitt. Sanders also clarified that when Trump tweeted over the weekend that Pruitt's apartment was "about market rate," he was referring to the much-criticized EPA ethics opinion over his rent of $50 for each night he spent there. "In that, it cites that the apartment was at market value and goes into other details, and that was what the president was reflecting," she said.     PERRY MIGHT NOT DECLARE GRID EMERGENCY: Energy Secretary Rick Perry said Monday that he may not declare there is an emergency in the Northeast's electric grid. FirstEnergy Solutions, a power generating company, asked for such a declaration last month, saying that it plans to close its coal and nuclear power plants, which would devastate the PJM Interconnection grid that runs from Ohio to New Jersey and many other nearby states. Perry said that while he sympathizes with the need to prevent coal and nuclear plants from closing, he might not endorse FirstEnergy's plan. The relief FirstEnergy requested "may not be the way that we decide that is the most appropriate, the most efficient, way to address this. It is not the only way," Perry said at a New York City event hosted by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Nonetheless, the request for Perry to use his power under section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act and mandate higher electricity payments to coal and nuclear plants in the region is "an issue in front of [the Energy Department] that is being looked at as we speak," he said. Speaking in West Virginia last week, President Trump acknowledged FirstEnergy's petition, saying, "we'll be looking at that."   So what now? Perry was far from declaring that FirstEnergy's request is dead. The Energy Department is still considering it and is likely to issue a decision soon. But he made it clear that, even after his plan for higher payments to coal and nuclear power plants was defeated, he still wants to find a way to save those plants from closing, probably by paying them more. This particular legal provision might not be the way he tries to do that, but he's definitely interested in trying something.   INTERIOR OFFICIAL COMPARED PARKLAND STUDENTS TO NAZIS: An official in the Interior Department compared student survivors of the Parkland school shooting to Nazis on his personal Facebook page. In one post, Kevin Sabo, acting chief of the Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs at the Bureau of Reclamation in Interior, shared an article from conservative commentator Ben Shapiro showing Parkland student David Hogg with a raised fist. He added the comment: "Is this child giving a nazi salute? What the hell is the left doing to these kids?" Sabo's controversial posts were first reported by Talking Points Memo, and most appear to have been removed from his Facebook page, though the one about the salute could still be seen on Monday. In one post reported by TPM that can no longer be seen on his Facebook page, Sabo wrote: "The Nazis took everyone's guns away too. A lot of similarities with these kids." Sabo is a career employee at the Bureau of Reclamation, serving as a civil service congressional affairs liaison. He was hired before the Trump administration. A spokesperson for the Bureau said the agency has "no comment on the personal views expressed on his Facebook page," adding that "civil servants are guaranteed First Amendment rights to communicate their own views on their own time on their own social media sites, even if some would find those views disagreeable or the primary sources erroneous." Read more.   APPLE HITS RENEWABLE MILESTONE: Apple Inc. said it has hit a major milestone for renewable energy, and is currently buying energy-renewable electricity to power all of its operations. The milestone includes stores, offices, data centers, and co-located facilities in 43 countries, Apple said Monday. In addition, 23 Apple suppliers have committed to using 100 percent clean energy. "We're committed to leaving the world better than we found it. After years of hard work we're proud to have reached this significant milestone," Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement. "We're going to keep pushing the boundaries of what is possible with the materials in our products, the way we recycle them, our facilities and our work with suppliers to establish new creative and forward looking sources of renewable energy because we know the future depends on it." A major piece of Apple's efforts has been installing renewable energy facilities at certain sites like data centers. It now has 25 operational facilities with 626 megawatts of capacity.   ON TAP TUESDAY: Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is coming back to Capitol Hill. He's due to testify in front of the Senate Appropriations Committee's subpanel with jurisdiction over his agency, to discuss its fiscal 2019 budget request. The House Energy and Commerce Committee's oversight subcommittee will hold a hearing on the recovery of Puerto Rico's electrical grid. The House Natural Resources Committee will meet to vote on five bills. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a hearing on Utilizing Significant Emissions with Innovative Technologies (USE IT) Act, meant to boost carbon capture and utilization. The House Natural Resources Committee's federal land subcommittee will hold a hearing on four bills in its jurisdiction.   OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY: Kinder Morgan is halting most construction on its Trans Mountain pipeline expansion in Canada, the Associated Press reports. Demolition at a facility in Washington state's Hanford nuclear site is on hold due to radiation exposure in numerous workers, the SFGate.com reports. Westmoreland Coal Co. may consider filing for bankruptcy, Colorado Public Radio reports.   IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Check out Monday's stories ... - Some Republicans are rallying around Pruitt - Schumer to Trump: Get rid of Pruitt - Internal email contradicts Pruitt's story on raises: report - Perry says he may not declare an electric grid emergency - Interior official compared Parkland students to Nazis: report - Top ethics official asks EPA to 'appropriately address' Pruitt controversies - Agencies to sign Trump memo cutting review time for infrastructure: report - GOP chairman backs Pruitt amid controversies     Please send tips and comments to Timothy Cama, tcama@thehill.com; and Devin Henry, dhenry@thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @Timothy_Cama, @dhenry, @thehill         Did a friend forward you this email? 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Breaking News: Trump: FBI raid on Cohen 'a disgrace'

View in your browser     Trump: FBI raid on Cohen 'a disgrace' President Trump on Monday called the FBI raid on his personal attorney Michael Cohen a "disgrace."  "It’s a disgraceful situation," the president said during a meeting with military leaders.  Read the full story here         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for Breaking News     Forward Breaking News     You Might Like       Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Overnight Defense: Washington waits for Trump response to Syria | Latest on chemical attack | National Guard troops head to border | Djibouti flights resume after crashes

View in your browser     THE TOPLINE: Washington on Monday debated how to respond to the new allegations of chemical weapons use by the Syrian regime. Over the weekend, horrifying pictures and videos emerged of civilians in the Damascus suburb of Douma dead and dying after an apparent chemical attack. At least 49 people have been reported dead and hundreds injured. Airstrikes hit a Syrian airbase Sunday night, but the Pentagon says it was not the U.S. military's doing. Syria and Russia claimed Israel carried out the strike, but Israel has not commented.   What might Trump do?: Almost exactly a year ago, the U.S. military launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at a Syrian airbase in response to a sarin gas attack blamed on Syrian President Bashar Assad. Defense Secretary James Mattis wouldn't rule out airstrikes to respond to the latest attack. "I don't rule out anything right now," Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon prior to meeting with the emir of Qatar.   Lawmakers want action: Some U.S. lawmakers are calling for a response similar to last year's strike. "This happened about a year ago, where about 100 people were killed with a chemical attack. The president responded with a targeted strike against those Syrian military units that carried out the attack," Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said on Fox News. "I thought that made very good sense, and it seems to me we ought to consider doing it again with our allies." Other lawmakers are calling for even more. "This should be the last time a barrel bomb is dropped on innocent civilians by the Assad air force," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on "Fox and Friends." "We have the capability to destroy his air force, to ground his air fleet, and we should use that capability." Still others want a congressional vote before any military action is taken. "The use of chemical weapons absolutely requires a response from the United States," Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said in a statement. "But if that response is going to include military force, the president of the United States should come to Congress and ask for authorization before military force is used."   When will we know?: President Trump promised a quick decision on how to respond to the chemical attack. Speaking at a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Trump told reporters he would make a decision "over the next 24 to 48 hours." "It was an atrocious attack. It was horrible," Trump told reporters during a Cabinet meeting at the White House. "This is about humanity and it can't be allowed to happen." Trump was scheduled to meet with his national security team later Monday.   Key background: The talk of a military strike on the Syrian regime comes after Trump talked about withdrawing U.S. troops from Syria altogether. The White House last week said U.S. troops would stay in Syria until the defeat of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), but Trump gave the military a six-month deadline to complete the job in a private meeting with this national security team. The demand puts him at odds with his military advisors, who have argued U.S. troops need to stay to prevent ISIS's re-emergence, prevent Iranian influence from growing and keep the territory stable until Assad is removed from power. We explored the divide between Trump and his military advisors about Syria over the weekend here.   Tough words at the UN: U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Monday blasted Moscow's support for Assad's regime, saying that Russian hands were "covered in blood" after the chemical attack.   Trump vs. McCain: Arizona Sen. John McCain (R) criticized Trump over the weekend, saying that his talk of withdrawing from Syria had emboldened Assad. On Monday, the White House hit back. "It is outrageous to say the president of the United States green-lit something as atrocious as the [chemical weapons attack]," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.     Happy Monday and welcome to Overnight Defense. I'm Rebecca Kheel, and here's your nightly guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond.   GUARD DEPLOYMENT UPDATE: President Trump's plan to deploy thousands of National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border is underway. On Monday, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) announced the deployment of 225 guardsmen to support the mission, with an unspecified number of additional members expected to deploy Tuesday. "Just updated Arizona border sheriffs on today's deployment of National Guard. LATEST: 225 guard members being deployed today, additional members tomorrow," Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) said in a tweet. "These troops will be helping our federal partners with any support role responsibilities that they need, and will be stationed in both the Tucson and Yuma sectors," he said in a second tweet.   What Mattis authorized: On Friday night, Defense Secretary James Mattis issued a memo that authorized up to 4,000 National Guard troops to support the Department of Homeland Security's border security mission. Mattis' memo stipulates that the guardsmen are not to perform law enforcement activities or interact with migrants or other individuals detained by DHS without Mattis' approval. The troops will be armed only if it's required for self-defense, the memo adds. "Together, the Departments of Homeland Security and Defense are committed to using every lever of power to support the men and women of law enforcement defending our nation's sovereignty and protecting the American people," Mattis and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said in a joint statement Friday. "We will continue to work with the governors to deploy the necessary resources until our nation's borders are secure."   Not the first time: Former President George W. Bush sent about 6,000 Guard troops to the border in 2006, while former President Obama sent about 1,200 guardsmen to the border in 2010. The deployments together were estimated to cost about $1.3 billion, according to the Government Accountability Office.   DJIBOUTI FLIGHTS BACK IN THE AIR: The U.S. military has resumed air operations in Djibouti following a stand down after two crashes last week. An AV-8B Harrier jet from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit crashed at Djibouti Ambouli International Airport last Tuesday, while a Marine CH-53 Super Stallion helicopter from the same unit sustained structural damage hours later during a landing at an approved exercise landing zone at Arta Beach, Djibouti.   Why it matters: Djibouti is a key hub for counterterrorism missions in the region. The nation is home to the only permanent U.S. military base on the continent. The base holds roughly 4,000 U.S. troops and functions as a launch point for operations in Somalia and Yemen.   AFGHANISTAN UPDATE: The U.S. military announced Monday that an airstrike last week killed a leader of Afghanistan's branch of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The April 5 strike in Faryab province killed Qari Hikmatullah and his bodyguard, according to the military. A news release described Hikmatullah as a senior commander of the branch, known as IS-K, and the main facilitator of IS-K fighters into northern Afghanistan.   NORTH KOREA UPDATE: President Trump his planned nuclear summit with Korean leader Kim Jong Un could take place in May or June. Officials had previously floated meetings by May, raising the possibility that the timeline for talks could slip. Takeaway: Trump's comments suggest he is still committed to meeting with Kim despite the obstacles ahead.   ON TAP FOR TOMORROW: The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing on Transportation Command's fiscal 2019 budget request at 9:30 a.m. at the Dirksen Senate Office Building, room G-50. https://bit.ly/2Eqv6c8 A Senate Foreign Relations Committee subpanel will hold a hearing on the Summit of the Americas at 10 a.m. at Dirksen 419. https://bit.ly/2EucfNK    ICYMI: -- The Hill: US conducts successful test to integrate missile-defense systems -- The Hill: Army: Two died in helicopter crash in Kentucky -- The Hill: Opinion: North Korea dangles 'denuclearization' like a hunter setting a trap -- The Hill: Opinion: Apparent Syrian chemical attack must not change Trump foreign policy -- The Hill: Opinion: After reported chemical attack in Syria, Trump's 'loose cannon' instincts are his best asset -- Military Times: The death toll for rising aviation accidents: 133 troops killed in five years -- Associated Press: Military child abuse case raises complex sentencing issues -- Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Levelland native talks about nomination as head of VA     Please send tips and comments to Rebecca Kheel, rkheel@thehill.com, and Ellen Mitchell, emitchell@thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @thehill, @Rebecca_H_K, @EllenMitchell23         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for Defense Newsletters     Forward Defense Newsletters       Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.