WASHINGTON — A senior adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump once said that Jews who were murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust can be compared to carbon dioxide, a gas that scientists agree causes global warming.

William Happer made the comparison between Jews and the greenhouse gas in 2014. The comment resurfaced Monday in a New York Times report.

“The demonization of carbon dioxide is just like the demonization of the poor Jews under Hitler,” he said at the time in a televised interview with CNBC. “Carbon dioxide is actually a benefit to the world, and so were the Jews.”

>> Climate change could lead to another holocaust | Opinion

Happer, a Princeton-educated physicist with no climate background, leads the Trump administration’s efforts to overturn restrictions on air pollution and other factors that contribute to global warming. As the president’s deputy assistant for emerging technologies, he is a member of the National Security Council.

The comparison made headlines again on Monday when the New York Times reported that Happer is leading a new “climate review panel” within the Trump administration. The panel follows other administration efforts to roll back measures to curb global warming.

The Times also reported that Happer’s work is backed by John Bolton, Trump’s national security adviser, and also has the support of Robert Mercer, a billionaire and leading donor to Trump’s presidential campaign and to other Republican politicians — as well as to efforts to disprove climate science.