And the candidate is …

With the help of Alex Guillén, Anthony Adragna and Annie Snider

KAVANAUGH IT IS: With a lot of fanfare, President Donald Trump has appointed Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh for the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy to the Supreme Court. Here's what you need to know about Kavanaugh's environmental initiatives as Republicans head to a congressional blitz to get it confirmed before the November mid-term elections.

History continued below

With 12 years on the bench Kavanaugh made a series of decisions on environmental affairs, which gives him a skeptical reputation for federal agencies seeking to expand their reach, Alex Guillén reports. This is a crucial point to keep in mind while the rewrite by the EPA of the waters of the Obama era of the American era should head to the Supreme Court. (Reminder: That's Kennedy who voted decisive in a turning decision in 2006 on the issue.)

As a veteran of the Court of Appeals of the DC Circuit Kavanaugh criticized Obama's regulation on carbon dioxide. for known power plants. Alex writes that Kavanaugh at the Supreme Court might mean that his conservative wing would be more willing to support the Trump administration's moves to barely regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, as is envisioned.

However, Kavanaugh's decisions also show a willingness to support the actions of the agency when he feels that Congress has granted him wide latitude. In 2014, Kavanaugh wrote an opinion supporting the EPA 's tighter air quality standard for particles versus the challenges of the industry, explaining that the Clean Air Act "confers on the company' s. EPA has a wide latitude in the definition of these standards.

Yet with so much known about Kavanaugh, he will probably encounter a tough fight of confirmation in the Senate, where Republicans only hold a slim majority. Read more from Alex here.

DOCKET WATCH: Kavanaugh is on the panel of an ongoing case involving the EPA – a green challenge to Scott Pruitt's 20-month delay of an update to the Obama's chemical safety regulations. The arguments were almost four months ago, and it is unclear what delays the decision given the relatively straightforward question about the EPA's power to delay its rules. During the oral proceedings, Kavanaugh seemed sympathetic to the EPA's authority to delay its own regulations if it followed notice and comment procedures, as in this case.

It is not clear what will happen now . If the opinion is essentially ready for broadcast, the panel can simply issue it in the next few days. (The DC Circuit yesterday afternoon issued an opinion for a non-energetic Kavanaugh case, even though it almost always issues decisions on Tuesday and Friday morning.) If Kavanaugh withdraws from the panel, things get trickier . The other two judges, Judith W. Rogers and Robert L. Wilkins, could make the decision as they agreed on the outcome. If this is not the case, another judge should be set up and the case would be litigated again, probably this fall. If this happens, the final decision of this panel would likely come in the months following the expiration of the deadline, 19 February.

LIFE COMES FAST: Assuming Kavanaugh is confirmed at the time of the Supreme Court's return in October, the first case on the record will be on the dark gopher frog – a Mississippi amphibian in Critical extinction path. The case Weyerhaeuser Co. c. Fish and Wildlife Service deals with the Endangered Species Act and the designation of private lands.

Read more on Kavanaugh's biography and political opinions here, some of his most important decisions here and how the president decided here

GOOD TUESDAY MORNING! I am your host, Kelsey Tamborrino. Rachel Gantz of the Renewable Fuels Association was the first to correctly identify both countries, such as the United States, that do not use the metric system: Myanmar and Liberia. For today: There has never been a president who had no brothers and sisters, but which past presidents are half-brothers and sisters? Hint: There are four. Send your tips, energy gossip and comments to [email protected], or follow us on Twitter @kelseytam @Morning_Energy and @POLITICOPRO .

BARRASSO SPEAKING WITH WHEELER THIS WEEK: John Barrasso, chairman of the Standing Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works, said on Monday that he would address the issue. Acting EPA Administrator, Andrew Wheeler, this week. He added that he hoped to "understand [Wheeler’s] schedule of what works to have him come here to testify." Barrasso also said that he would be happy to select a permanent replacement this year for Pruitt, reports Anthony Adragna Pro. "I think it's important to have a candidate, but it's up to the president to decide," Barrasso said. "We would address it as soon as the president would make the appointment."

– Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe for whom Wheeler was previously working, said he "strongly recommends" that Wheeler be appointed to head the agency permanently. "He knows the job better than anyone in America knows about it," Inhofe told reporters on Monday. Read more from Anthony here.

NOT GRASSLEY: The Senate Judiciary Chair, Chuck Grassley, longtime critic of Pruitt's positions on ethanol, said Monday to ME that he did not want Trump appoint a permanent replacement this year. "No. The next year," he said when asked if Pruitt's successor should come this year, his office did not provide more explanations. for why Grassley thinks that the choice should wait.

EPA NOMINEES BEGIN CONFIRMING: Two EPA candidates were hired by the agency prior to their confirmation of the Senate, The Hill reported Monday, Peter Wright and Chad McIntosh both began working at the agency on Monday as "special advisers" for Wheeler, according to an email sent by Chief of Staff Ryan Jackson on Friday. and McIntosh have appointments pending to lead the Office of Land and Emergency Management and the Office of International and Tribal Affairs, respectively.In a statement to Washington Examiner, Kevin Minoli, EPA's Senior Assistant General Counsel, minimized the movement. "There is nothing in s the Vacancy Reform Act or Supreme Court jurisprudence that depends on the stage of appointment in the process of consultation and consent of the Senate, "he said. The Office of the Special Advisers of the United States has opened a file in the recent tweet of Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, showing socks with the face of Trump and the slogan "Make America Great Again". Zinke wore them at a rally of the Western Governors Association at Mount Rushmore, SD Shortly after the initial tweet of last month, Zinke apologized and re-posted the news. image with the slogan MAGA off, and noted that he had not realized that the socks "had what could be considered a political slogan".

The Campaign for Accountability filed a complaint with the OSC asking whether the original tweet violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits management employees from participating in partisan politics. An OSC spokesperson confirmed that the CfA complaint had been received and that the office had opened a file without confirming whether an investigation had been opened.

The OSC issued updated guidelines earlier this year. do not display the MAGA slogan in service. And last month, the office closed its investigation into Zinke's appearance at a fundraiser in the Virgin Islands in March 2017, concluding that he had not violated the law.

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THE DEMS HAVE MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PFAS: The publication of the draft From the health assessment of the non-stick chemicals that POLITICO reported Trump Administration officials have sought to block did not put an end to questions about political interference. Two senior Democrats from the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee wrote yesterday Wheeler and Patrick Breysse, the head of the HHS agency that drafted the Perfluorinated Compounds Health Assessment, or PFAS. Representatives Peter DeFazio (D-Ore) and Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.) Asked for key documents and agency plans to address exposures and ongoing releases of chemicals. "In our opinion, any Trump administration effort to remove the ATSDR study would be totally inconsistent with the EPA's stated missions and its statutory responsibility to protect public health" , writes the couple.

PUTTING SOX INTO IT: The EPA is holding a public hearing today on the air quality standard for Sulfur Dioxide. In May, Pruitt proposed to maintain the current standard on sulfur dioxide air quality, claiming that "the United States is making tremendous progress" in reducing SO2 concentrations. The SO2 standard was last updated by the Obama administration in 2010, when it was boosted to 75 parts per billion on average over an hour. The EPA has already said that it would extend the comment period on the issue until August 9th.

TODAY: HOUR TODAY: The House will begin this week reviewing the transfer of remediation titles. The Rules Committee is meeting tonight to formulate a rule on By-law 3281 (115), which provides that certain transfers of project titles or refurbishment facilities will not be held by the federal government. The measure was introduced for the first time by GOP representative Doug Lamborn and passed the Natural Resources Committee last year. "Transferring these easy fruit facilities is often a win-win situation allowing water districts to leverage non-federal funding through equity of ownership while decreasing federal accountability," Lamborn said in a statement. communicated at the time. (115), which would make changes to the Congressional Budget Act regarding the cost of federal regulation.

BRITISH SCIENTISTS COULD CHALLENGE TRUMP ON CLIMATE: Before Trump's trip to the UK this week, 135 of his "climatologists write to Prime Minister Theresa May to urge him to challenge the President on climate change. " With the United States being the world's second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, President Trump's policy of inaction on climate change is endangering British policy. national security and its interests abroad, "they wrote in the letter.

– ME thought bubble: Trump touted the interests of national security as a key element of his administration's efforts to support Coal Plants and Nuclear Power Plants in Economic Difficulty

CALL MAIL Nineteen conservative organizations, including the American Energy Alliance and the Competitive Enterprise Institute, have sent a letter to Speaker Paul Ryan and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy to call for a vote in the House as soon as possible – a non-binding resolution against carbon taxes Resolution H. Res Res 119 (115) , would express congressional sentiment that a carbon tax would be detrimental to the US economy. "There is simply nothing conservative about setting up any business. a new energy tax massive that would allow the federal government to collect hundreds of billions of additional dollars every year from US taxpayers, and to do the right thing. GORE WARNS GERMANY ON CLIMATE: Former Vice President Al Gore told Matthew Karnitschnig of POLITICO Europe that Germany was losing its edge as one of the biggest global producers. leaders in the fight against climate change. "Germany has been a model for the rest of the world and a story has taken place here in Germany that could be summarized as" Germany leads and everyone follows, "said Gore." But what story is now out of date. "Gore was there to help train climate change activists To find out more …

FOR YOUR RADAR: A list of lawmakers will deliver remarks today at 2018 forum on the exhibition and clean energy policies at the Congress of the Institute of Environmental and Energy Studies, Sense Dean Heller, Chris Van Hollen and Jack Reed, and Paul Tonko Matt Cartwright and Peter Welch will discuss topics ranging from energy-efficient building systems to renewable energy trends and perspectives. If you go: The forum starts at 9:30 pm in 2168 Rayburn Watch the livestream here

In the frame From its series of notes on fuel safety, the Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity released its second paper on the subject on Monday. Read it here.

MOVER, SHAKER: Jennifer Morris joins Growth Energy as Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs, announced Monday the organization of the ethanol trade. Morris

– Jacob Malcom was promoted to Director of the Center for Conservation Innovation at Defenders of Wildlife, having joined the organization in January 2015. Previously, he worked as a biologist for the US Fish and Wildlife Service and Leslie Canyon National Wildlife Refuge.

– Julie Eddy Rokala, former chief of staff of California representative Doris Matsui, joined the law firm Cassidy & Associates on Monday as Senior Vice President, where she is 39 will occupy renewable energies and related issues.

QUICK HITS

– "How the EPA and the Pentagon Downplayed a Growing Toxic Threat," ProPublica

– "Puerto Rico Treats Rain and Floods as Remnants of the Beryl movement on the island, "CNN.

– "Nissan says that it found" misconduct "in the exhaust, fuel economy tests," Bloomberg.

– "W.Va. The company of the governor is accused of failing to conclude a coal export agreement," S & P Global. "

-" Producers of Cement Develop a Plan for Reducing CO2 Emissions. "

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