Incoming U.S. Ambassador Jokes About Iceland Becoming The 52nd State

The incoming U.S. ambassador to Iceland and former member of the U.S. House of Representatives joked yesterday that Iceland would become the 52nd state of the USA and that he would be its governor, reports Politico.

According to Politico, “We heard that former Rep. Billy Long, Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Iceland, joked to members on the floor last night that Iceland will be the 52nd state and he’ll be governor.”

Billy Long is a former congressman from Missouri. Last August, he was removed from his position as head of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the agency responsible for collecting federal taxes and overseeing federal tax legislation. His appointment to the role just two months earlier had been controversial due to his lack of experience in the field. On the same day as his dismissal, it was announced that United States President Donald Trump had nominated him as the new ambassador to Iceland.

In November 2025, Billy Long was vetted as competent to serve in the post by the Department of State. On January 13, 2026, he was formally nominated by the U.S. Senate to serve as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Iceland.

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