Remember how Rand Paul, Mitch McConnell, Susan strongly-worded-letter Collins and Lisa Murkowski were supposedly the reasonable Republicans who would make sure that problematic nominees weren't confirmed?
Well... meet Billy Long.
Billy used to be the US Congressman for Branson, Missouri. Yep, Anita Bryant's post-disgrace home away from home. He retired from Congress in 2023 at age 69. It appears that Long was selected because, while in Congress, he put up a bill to abolish the IRS.
While Billy Long was waiting for confirmation (which took nearly 120 days), the Trump Administration hired him to work as a "senior adviser to the Office of Personnel Management" and he was paid a salary of $195,200 per year.
On June 12, 2025, Billy Long was confirmed by the Senate in a 53-44 vote, with every Republican voting to confirm him.
Then somewhere around late July, someone realized that Billy Long didn't have a college degree, of any type. In fact, he had never worked in accounting or anything closely related to taxes. Prior to his illustrious career in Congress, Billy Long had operated Billy Long Auctions, auctioning cows for a living.
Once someone realized that Billy Long wouldn't have a fucking clue how to run the Internal Revenue Service, there was a scramble to "reassign" him.
Billy Long is now the new Ambassador to Iceland.
Billy Long, an American congressman from Missouri, was removed from his position as the head of the Internal Revenue Service...
grapevine.is
Billy Long, an American congressman from Missouri, was removed from his position as the head of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on Friday. The IRS is the service responsible for collecting federal taxes and overseeing the federal tax legislation, and his appointment to the position just two months ago was controversial due to his lack of experience in the field. The same day as his firing, he announced that United States President Donald Trump had appointed him as the new ambassador to Iceland.
Sharing the news on social media, the congressman posted on X: “It is a honor to serve my friend President Trump and I am excited to take on my new role as the ambassador to Iceland. I am thrilled to answer his call to service and deeply committed to advancing his bold agenda. Exciting times ahead!”
For your enjoyment... Billy Long did distinguish himself when he got into a shouting match with Laura Loomer (yes,
that Laura Loomer) in a House hearing. Well, it started a shouting match until Billy decided to auction her off.
www.nbcnews.com
