McCarthy headed to Hawaii after House GOP introduced investigations into catastrophe response, trigger

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy introduced that he would head to Hawaii to survey harm and restoration efforts following devastating wildfires in Maui and Lahaina. 

Mr. McCarthy’s journey comes as a pair of Republican-led House panels are launching investigations into wildfires which have left 115 useless and lots of lacking. 

“I’m headed to Hawaii to assess the damage, response, and recovery efforts on the ground from the fire in Maui.,” Mr. McCarthy, California Republican, stated on X, the platform previously often known as Twitter. “It’s clear we need answers into how this tragic fire occurred and what could have been done to prevent it from happening.”

The Washington Times reached out to Mr. McCarthy’s workplace for extra info on his journey. Mr. McCarthy’s go to will comply with President Biden’s journey to Maui. 

Republicans have been vital of the Biden administration’s response to the catastrophe and have taken concern with the excessive loss of life toll and variety of nonetheless lacking and unaccounted for folks. The Associated Press reported that the variety of folks formally listed as lacking from the fireplace stood at 385 on Friday. 

GOP lawmakers additionally decried the delayed federal response to Maui and Lahaina and President Biden’s “no comment” reply on the rising loss of life toll in Hawaii — the administration has since stated that the president didn’t hear the reporter’s query. 

Those criticisms have advanced right into a pair of congressional investigations led by the House Oversight Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee. 

House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer, Kentucky Republican, stated earlier this week that the panel can be launching an investigation into the federal, state and native authorities response to the wildfires. 

“The response by federal, state, and local officials to the catastrophic wildfire in Maui raises serious questions and Americans, especially those impacted by this tragedy, deserve answers,” Mr. Comer stated in an announcement.  

“As recovery efforts continue, the House Oversight Committee has a responsibility to ensure taxpayer dollars are being used efficiently and effectively,” Mr. Comer continued. “To minimize the risk of waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars, the Oversight Committee will examine the federal government’s response in Maui and work with other committees of jurisdiction to ensure accountability.”

Lawmakers on the House Energy and Commerce Committee introduced in a letter to utility firm Hawaiian Electric, the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission and the Hawaii State Energy Office that the panel can be launching an investigation into the utility firm’s function within the fireplace.

The lawmakers wrote that proof of a downed energy line that sparked on dry grass in Lahaina indicated that Hawaiian Electric gear “may have been the cause.” 

The GOP-led panel additionally pointed to a pledge by the corporate in 2019 to improve the grid to decrease the chance of wildfire, however that “information coming to light” confirmed that Hawaiian Electric had not taken steps to harden and modernize electrical infrastructure in Maui till the final couple of years.