State Department 'bureaucrat': 'I prefer high gas prices' because of less emissions

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A State Department official is drawing criticism after tweeting that he prefers high gas prices because it means less driving and less carbon emissions.

"I prefer high gas prices = less driving, less CO2," Senior State Department Foreign Service Officer Alan Eyre tweeted on Friday in response to a tweet from President Biden claiming American families are paying less per month on average than they were during "peak prices."

Eyre describes himself as a "gov’t bureaucrat" in his Twitter bio along with the phrase "kindness, always kindness."

Eyre’s tweet was widely criticized on social media including from former Republican California state senate candidate Ron Bassilian who called Eyre a "ghoul" and pointed out that gas demand is "inelastic."

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(Twitter @AlanEyre1)

"Perhaps, but I don’t think it is inelastic and I remember in the 1970s the oil embargo led to a massive increase in renewables," Eyre responded along with the hashtag #BeKind.

Basilian responded with criticism that was echoed by several other Twitter users pointing out that gas prices have caused significant struggles for Americans across the country.

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"Be kind?" Basslian said. "Perhaps be kind to the billions of people left high and dry in this situation you praise. Saying a famine is a good way to start a diet is not kind."

LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND- MARCH 18: Alan Eyre, left, the Persian language spokesman for the US State Department speaks with Iranian reporters during the Iran nuclear talks in Lausanne, Switzerland, March 18, 2015.  (Credit: Carol Morello/ The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

Following the publication of this article, Eyre's Twitter account appears to have been deactivated or deleted.  

Eyre’s comment comes shortly after Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg faced criticism for suggesting that higher prices at the pump were actually beneficial for transitioning to electric vehicles.

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During an interview on a radio program earlier this month, Buttigieg said the Biden administration was trying to cut the cost of electric vehicles "because when you have an electric vehicle, then you’re also gonna be able to save on gas, but you’ve got to be able to afford it in the first place." 

"The more pain we are all experiencing from the high price of gas, the more benefit there is for those who can access electric vehicles," the former presidential candidate added while testifying before Congress recently. 

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg appeared on ABC's "The View" on April 8, 2022 and discussed high gas prices and inflation. (Screenshot/ABC) (Screenshot/ABC)

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The national average gas price, as of Thursday, was around $4.40. While the price is down about 20 cents from last week’s average, it is still over a dollar higher than prices this time last year and two dollars more than when Biden first took office.

Fox News’ Bradford Betz and Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report.