FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX News) — Gas prices have climbed back to around $4 a gallon this week, just as millions of Americans prepare to travel for Labor Day weekend — and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear says the timing could not be worse for families already stretched thin.
According to AAA, the national average gas price has never topped $4 a gallon on Labor Day. The current record for the holiday is $3.82, set in 2012, but AAA believes prices this weekend could surpass that mark.
Beshear said the rising cost at the pump is a serious burden on Kentucky families, compounding increases in food and electricity prices that are hitting households all at once.
"Labor Day prices are going to be the highest maybe in my lifetime, but certainly in the last several years, at a time where people just can't afford it. It is all the fault of one individual and that's President Trump who decided to go to war with Iran," Beshear said.
When asked what action the state or Congress could take to ease the burden on drivers, Beshear pointed to U.S. foreign policy as the solution.
"I want Congress to end the war, to reopen the Strait of Hormuz - which we can do with seasoned negotiators instead of the President's buddies who have no experience negotiating with Iran," Beshear said.
Last week, President Donald Trump announced on social media that the U.S. and Venezuela have reached a historic oil deal. Trump said the deal would give the U.S. majority control of more than 65 billion barrels of proven oil reserves in Venezuela and that it will lower gas prices for Americans long into the future.
