What’s Behind President Biden’s Pivot to Maui

All of a sudden, Joe Biden and his administration are laser-focused on disaster-recovery efforts in Maui.

On Wednesday, the president convened cabinet and relevant executive-agency officials to coordinate support for areas of Hawaii affected by this month’s devastating wildfires. Beyond disaster relief, the administration announced that it would provide $95 million via the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to upgrade Hawaii’s electric grid, the poor maintenance of which produced the spark that touched off the deadliest American wildfire in a century. And the White House made sure to post all of it on social media.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.

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All of a sudden, Joe Biden and his administration are laser-focused on disaster-recovery efforts in Maui.

On Wednesday, the president convened cabinet and relevant executive-agency officials to coordinate support for areas of Hawaii affected by this month’s devastating wildfires. Beyond disaster relief, the administration announced that it would provide $95 million via the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to upgrade Hawaii’s electric grid, the poor maintenance of which produced the spark that touched off the deadliest American wildfire in a century. And the White House made sure to post all of it on social media.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.