The White House criticized Republicans for trying to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act and its climate change mitigation provisions after at least 96 people were confirmed dead due to the Maui, Hawaii, wildfires.

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated the criticism as she defended President Joe Biden from scrutiny over his reluctance to declare a state of emergency in response to climate change before Wednesday's anniversary of the legislation.

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"Think about the Inflation Reduction Act," Jean-Pierre told reporters Monday. "You know what Republicans in Congress are trying to do? They're trying to take that away, they're trying to repeal the IRA, and that is a problem. And so while we're trying to deal with this existential threat, this climate change crisis, the president's doing everything that he can to make sure that we're dealing with this in a way that actually leads to results. And that's what the president's going to continue to do."

Jean-Pierre underscored how Biden has described climate change as an "emergency" and the "existential threat of our time," citing programs that use the Defense Production Act to increase heat pump and wildfire fighting equipment manufacturing, in addition to projects that encourage the adoption of solar power and electric vehicles.

"So this is something that the president has taken very seriously," she said.

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Biden will be in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Tuesday to promote the Inflation Reduction Act after traveling to Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah last week to do the same.

"The day before the first anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, the president will deliver remarks on how Bidenomics is investing in America to grow the economy from the middle out and the bottom up, not the top down," the White House said Sunday.