WASHINGTON (AP) — Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt testified Thursday in potentially make-or-break hearings on Capitol Hill, where he faced questions about spending and ethics scandals that have triggered bipartisan calls for his ouster.

Pruitt read a prepared statement about his agency's fiscal year 2019 budget priorities to begin the first of two back-to-back hearings before House subcommittees.

On the ethics issues swirling around him, Pruitt said he had nothing to hide.

"Facts are facts and fiction is fiction," Pruitt said, adding that many of the media reports about him were twisted half-truths and lies.

The public grilling comes amid erosion in support for Pruitt among fellow Republicans after a monthlong swarm of negative headlines about outsized security spending, first-class flights and a sweetheart condo lease.

President Donald Trump has continued to stand by his EPA chief. But behind closed doors, White House officials concede Pruitt's job is in jeopardy. A growing list of Republican lawmakers has joined Democrats in calling for new investigations into Pruitt's actions.

Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana said Pruitt's behavior has begun to hurt Trump's credibility, as well as the Republican Party generally.

"I don't mean to be too harsh, but you can't just go around acting like a big shot, and you can't go around seeing how close you can come to the line, and you can't go around disrespecting taxpayer dollars," Kennedy said Tuesday. "It shouldn't be tolerated. That's part of the swamp that we're trying to clean up."

Pruitt has faced a steady trickle of revelations involving pricey trips in first-class seats and unusual security spending, including a $43,000 soundproof booth for making private phone calls. He also demanded 24-hour-a-day protection from armed officers, resulting in a swollen, 20-member security detail that blew through overtime budgets and racked up expenses approaching $3 million.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said officials were "evaluating these concerns and we expect the EPA administrator to answer for them."

Pruitt in the past has often sought to deflect questions about any missteps by blaming his subordinates.

Asked about his frequent use of premium-class airfare in February media interviews, Pruitt said, "I'm not involved in any of those decisions." The administrator said his security chief made the decision for him to fly in first class after an unpleasant interaction with another traveler raised safety concerns.

Pruitt's troubles began in earnest last month, when ABC News first reported he had leased a Capitol Hill condo last year for just $50 a night that was co-owned by the wife of a veteran fossil fuels lobbyist whose firm had sought regulatory rollbacks from EPA.

Both Pruitt and the lobbyist, Steven Hart, denied he had conducted any recent business with EPA. But Hart was forced to admit last week he had met with Pruitt at EPA headquarters last summer after his firm, Williams & Jensen, revealed he had lobbied the agency on a required federal disclosure form.

EPA's press office has declined to discuss the meeting.

Thursday's hearings will be Pruitt's first major appearance since a Fox News interview in early April that was widely considered to be disastrous within the West Wing.

Pressed on reports of significant raises awarded to two close aides he had brought with him to EPA from Oklahoma, Pruitt denied having any role in the decision. Documents later showed Pruitt's chief of staff signed off on the pay increases, indicating he had the administrator's consent.

A lawyer and former Oklahoma attorney general, Pruitt is known to meticulously prepare for congressional hearings, with his office schedule showing he often blocks off hours huddled with top political aides.

An administration official confirmed that Pruitt declined an offer of White House assistance in preparing for the latest congressional hearings. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive internal conversations.

Environmental groups opposed to Pruitt's efforts to gut anti-pollution regulations have attempted to ramp up the pressure this week, paying for TV ads attacking Pruitt to be aired during the "Fox & Friends" morning show on Fox News. Trump is known to be a devoted viewer.

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Follow Associated Press environmental reporter Michael Biesecker at http://twitter.com/mbieseck