Speaker McCarthy headed to Hawaii after House GOP announces disaster response investigation

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced on Friday that he is going to Hawaii to examine the damage and recovery efforts following the deadly wildfires in Maui and Lahaina. 

"I'm headed to Hawaii to assess the damage, response, and recovery efforts on the ground from the fire in Maui," he wrote on X, the platform previously called 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 GOP-led House Oversight and Accountability Committee announced earlier this week that it would launch an investigation into the federal government’s 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,” House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) said, according to Yahoo News.

President Biden drew a lot of backlash after announcing his plan to support relief efforts by providing families with a one-time $700 payment, a plan that attracted intense scrutiny following his refusal to comment on the catastrophe while on vacation.

As of now the death toll from the wildfires in Hawaii stands at 115 with many people still missing. 

This incident is the state's deadliest natural disaster since a 1960 tsunami that killed 61 Hawaiians.