Who needs experience when you’ve got charm?
By Stephen Macaulay
President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Billy Long as IRS Commissioner.
Full disclosure:
I had no idea who the current IRS Commissioner is until I Googled him.
Danny Werfel. And I learned the IRS consists of about 85,000 people and has a budget of in excess of $12 billion.
So, it is good to know that Werfel, who has an MA in Public Policy from Duke, a JD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a BA in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell, came to the IRS from the Boston Consulting Group, where he was global leader of its Public Sector practice. He got the global job after leading the North American sector.
And before joining the Boston Consulting Group, he had more than 15 years with the Federal government, with jobs ranging from trial attorney in the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division to Acting Commissioner of the IRS.
But back to Billy.
Trump posted on Truth Social:
"Billy brings 32 years of experience running his own businesses in Real Estate and, as one of the premier Auctioneers in the Country. He then served 12 years in Congress, because he 'felt it was important for his constituents to have a Representative who has signed the front of a check!' (Random capitalization, as always, the president-elect’s.)
"Since leaving Congress, Billy has worked as a Business and Tax advisor, helping Small Businesses navigate the complexities of complying with the IRS Rules and Regulations. I have known Billy since 2011 -- He is an extremely hard worker, and respected by all, especially by those who know him in Congress. Taxpayers and the wonderful employees of the IRS will love having Billy at the helm. He is the consummate “people person,” well respected on both sides of the aisle."
Long was representative of the Missouri 7th Congressional district. The largest city in that district is Springfield, with a population of 304,611. Branson is also located there, so there’s that.
Long’s educational background is, well. . .he attended University of Missouri, but that didn’t work out, so he dropped out.
Three years later he attended the nine-day training program at the Missouri Auction School.
And he never looked back.
Here again we have a Trump nomination that is, well, absurd.
Qualifications and expertise in doing the people’s business — whether this is at the Department of Defense or the IRS — simply doesn’t matter.
Which seems like malfeasance.
But then, Long is a “people person.”