Former Southwest Missouri Congressman Billy Long has been re-nominated to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to Iceland, and that nomination has been sent to the U.S. Senate for consideration.
In an interview with a non-profit Alaska-based digital news publication, Long apologized for joking with former colleagues in the House that Iceland would become the 52nd state and that he could be Governor.
Long says the joke was about Jeff Landry, President Trump’s U.S. Special Envoy to Greenland, become the governor of Greenland.
Long says he wasn’t serious, gut a member of Iceland’s ruling party says Long’s statement represented a “fundamental disrespect for the sovereignty of small nations.”