UN aviation ambassador-designate Jeffrey Anderson is facing tax scrutiny

President Donald Trump’s nomination to serve as US ambassador to the United Nations (UN) aviation office is likely to be scrutinized over hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes that were not disclosed in ethics documents obtained by Fox News Digital.

Jeffrey Anderson, a retired Delta Air Lines captain and US military veteran, has been appointed to serve as the US ambassador to the International Civil Aviation Organization in July 2025. The International Civil Aviation Organization is a UN office based in Canada responsible for overseeing global aviation standards, including issues related to safety, navigation and environmental protection.

The administration endorsed him as “very suitable” for the role and “a good decision to represent the foreign policy agenda of the President of America First in the international aviation community,” in a statement sent by Fox News Digital in 2025 as his tax problems and previous support for Democrats came to light.

The role is a Senate-confirmed position, where Anderson is appointed to sit before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

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Now, Anderson has signed his ethics agreement and disclosure forms, but paid affiliate links are now not included, Fox News Digital has learned.

Fox News Digital obtained Anderson’s IRS Certificates of Federal Tax Lien Release showing that he and his wife had multiple federal tax liens spanning the 2013–2019 tax years, with unpaid balances totaling $426,000. The links were related to “small/active business” taxes, according to the documents.

A federal tax lien is “the government’s legal claim against your property if you ignore or fail to pay a tax lien,” according to the IRS.

The links, which were installed in two states of Georgia, were not released until October 2025 after completing the payment. One IRS Certificate of Federal Tax Lien Release shows liens for tax years 2012–2018 totaling $354,791.63 and later released on Oct. 15, 2025, according to documents obtained by Fox Digital. The second release shows a bond tied to the 2019 tax year totaling $71,313.11 and issued on October 29, 2025.

Anderson’s Public Financial Disclosure Report, called OGE Form 278e, however, lists only one mortgage in the debt section — not any disclosure of federal tax liens or IRS debt, according to documents obtained by Fox News Digital. OGE Form 278e contains boilerplate information and detailed information about Anderson’s assets, previous employment and income.

The Office of Government Ethics’ OGE Form 278e guidance instructs filers to report debts of more than $10,000 owed at any time during the reporting period.

Anderson signed the OGE Form Aug. 14, 2025, according to a document obtained by Fox News Digital.

Anderson’s OGE Form 278e and a separate ethics document submitted by Anderson to the Department of State’s Office of Legal Counsel were added to the Office of Government Ethics’ financial and ethics disclosure process on Sept. 21, 2025, Fox News Digital has found.

Fox News Digital has repeatedly reached out to the State Department, specifically asking why Anderson did not disclose the debts in the debt section of OGE 278e, if he filed an amended financial disclosure to add any IRS debt or debt after the initial filing, and when management was first informed of the liens.

An ICAO ambassador acts under the authority of the secretary of state when confirmed.

“We support the President’s nominee and look forward to his confirmation,” a State Department spokeswoman told Anderson’s Fox Digital on Wednesday.

A review of other nominees listed in OGE’s disclosure database indicates that individuals have amended their ethics disclosures during the vetting process. Anderson’s file does not show any public amendments to his initial disclosure.

Disclosure of public funds is a key part of the proposal evaluation process. State statutes and regulations generally require nominees to disclose outstanding debts at the time of reporting.

Senate-confirmed ambassadorial nominees are typically cleared through a multi-step White House process that can include an FBI background check and a review of federal financial disclosure regulations, with the State Department helping to put together and process the nomination package before it is formally sent to the Senate.

Headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, September 30, 2025. (Graham Hughes/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

“Everybody has flaws. That’s not the problem,” a former Trump official told Fox Digital on the matter. “The problem lies with Congress and misleading President Trump. Jeffrey Anderson stiffed the IRS by more than $426,000, shouldered federal debt for years, then tried to circumvent Senate confirmation by hiding from sworn disclosures. Federal tax liens are not arbitrary, and they don’t magically disappear.”

The former official added that most “Americans don’t just come up with half a million dollars to make the scandal go away,” while arguing that “Anderson’s record of giving to anti-Trump politicians” suggests a self-defeating nomination.

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ICAO’S ROLE HAS BEEN UNFULFILLED FOR YEARS

Anderson’s appointment to the office follows years of inactivity in American leadership. The role was eventually filled by former ambassador, legendary pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, who is stepping down in 2022.

Sullenberger was applauded in 2009, when a US Airways pilot landed Flight 1549 in the Hudson River after a bird strike shut down both engines and saved 155 lives — an event known as the “Miracle on the Hudson.”

Anderson’s nomination had been pending since July 2025, and was returned to the president on January 3, 2026 under Senate Bill XXXI, a technical rule, and Trump sent Anderson’s nomination to the Senate days later.

Anderson’s nomination drew pushback from the Air Line Pilots Association, a union that represents nearly 80,000 pilots across the US and Canada, saying his qualifications “solely” supported an effort to raise the pilot’s mandatory retirement age.

The union opposes raising the mandatory retirement age from 65 to 67, saying it would “leave the United States as an outlier in global aviation and wreak havoc on pilot operations, international and domestic airline operations,” the union said in a statement. July 2025 read.

International aviation laws prohibit pilots over the age of 65 from flying. Other aviation organizations around the world have asked the International Civil Aviation Organization to consider raising the global pilot age to 67, citing labor pressures and that retaining veteran pilots would strengthen aviation safety.

Anderson also has close financial ties to Democrats and other politicians who often hate Trump and his policies, Fox News Digital previously reported.

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“Jeffrey Anderson is not a Trump Republican at all; he is a liberal sleeper who has slipped through the cracks of the PPO (Office of the President’s Personnel),” a former Trump official told Fox Digital about Anderson’s political contributions and tax history in August 2025.

Former Delta pilot Jeff Anderson was appointed to serve as the US ambassador to ICAO in July. (Stock)

Anderson has made several small dollar donations to Republicans Nikki Haley during the 2024 campaign cycle, when the former US ambassador to the UN opposed Trump, criticizing him as “inflexible” while on the campaign trail before dropping out of the race and endorsing Trump as the GOP nominee for president.

The former driver also donated to a Democratic challenger trying to unseat Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene in the 2024 cycle, according to donation documents previously reported by Fox News Digital. Anderson’s political contributions to Democrats stretch back over the years, including in 2017 when he donated to Democrats, such as former House candidate Dan Ward of Virginia and former Representative Peter DeFazio of Oregon.

Texas Republican Representative Troy Nehls, who serves as chairman of the Domestic transportation and the Aviation Infrastructure Committee, told Fox Digital in August 2025 that Anderson would help usher in the “Golden Age of Aviation” if confirmed.

“Mr. Anderson was a Navy pilot and has over three decades of experience as a Delta pilot,” Nehls said in August. “Undoubtedly, he is qualified to represent the United States of America at ICAO, where his first-hand experience in the aviation industry will play an important role in advancing President Trump’s goal of ushering in the Golden Age of aviation.”

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President Donald Trump has nominated Jeff Anderson to serve as US ambassador to the office. (Photos by Graham Hughes / AFP/Getty)

“I fully support President Trump and his America First agenda. I have been fully vetted by the White House and appreciate the endorsement of the President, House Aviation Chairman Troy Nehls and House T&I Chairman Sam Graves, among others. I look forward to advancing America’s interests as the next Permanent Representative to ICAO,” Anderson wrote on August 20 in a direct message to Fox2025’s LinkedIn message. on Fox20 Digital. seeking to “successfully move on from the ground carelessly left by Biden.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on the disclosure timeline but did not receive a response.

Fox New Digital reached out to Anderson for comment on the timeline of tax obligations and ethics filings but did not receive a response.