President Biden’s long-awaited trip to Maui finally has a date. He’ll travel to the Hawaiian island—which has been ravaged by wildfires for the past week—on Monday, Aug. 21, the White House announced Wednesday. “In Maui, the President and First Lady will be welcomed by state and local leaders to see firsthand the impacts of the wildfires and the devastating loss of life and land that has occurred on the island, as well as discuss the next steps in the recovery effort,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. For critics, the trip is long overdue. Biden has been pressed over an apparent lack of attention given to the crisis, which peaked on Sunday when he took a beach trip and responded “no comment” to a reporter asking about the rising death toll in Maui. More than 100 people have been confirmed dead in the disaster, with the number expected to rise dramatically as recovery efforts continue.
