UNEXPECTEDLY: Biden Taps Economist Who Bemoaned Gas Prices ‘Too Damn Low.’

High gas prices have been a nightmare for President Joe Biden. But they are a dream come true for a progressive economist whom the president tapped for a top White House post.

Jared Bernstein, Biden’s nominee for chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, lamented in 2015 that gas prices were “too damn low.” Bernstein, who was writing at a time when gas cost $2.09 per gallon, asserted that “seriously under-priced” fuel costs had “scary” consequences for the environment because they stoked demand for fossil fuels. He suggested a gas tax hike, even as he acknowledged that low prices at the pump help working families.

Bernstein could soon have a prominent role in shaping Biden’s economic policy at a time when many Americans list high energy costs as one of their top concerns. Just 36 percent of Americans give Biden a positive rating on the economy, according to recent polls. A major contributor is a dramatic increase in the price of gas, which increased from $2.42 per gallon when Biden took office to $3.61 last week.

Related: Let them pump gas: Elitist environmentalists have contempt for working class.