Trump UN aviation ambassador nominee Jeffrey Anderson faces tax scrutiny

president Donald TrumpHis selection to serve as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. office focused on aviation is facing intense scrutiny over hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes that were not disclosed in official ethics documents obtained by Fox News Digital.

Jeffrey Anderson, a retired Delta Air Lines captain and U.S. Navy veteran, was nominated to serve as U.S. ambassador to the International Civil Aviation Organization in July 2025. ICAO is a United Nations office based in Canada charged with overseeing international aviation standards, including issues related to safety, navigation and environmental protection.

The administration backed him as “highly qualified” for the role and “an outstanding choice to represent the President’s America First foreign policy agenda in the international aviation community,” in a statement to Fox News Digital in 2025 as his running mate. Tax issues Previous support for Democrats emerged.

The position is a Senate-confirmed position, with Anderson’s nomination being presented to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

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President Donald Trump’s pick to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations office focused on aviation is facing intense scrutiny over hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes that were not disclosed in official ethics documents. (Alex Brandon/AP)

Now, Anderson has signed his own ethics agreement and disclosure forms, but no mention of paid perks is now included, Fox News Digital found.

Fox News Digital obtained Anderson’s IRS federal tax lien release affidavits that show he and his wife had multiple federal tax liens arising from the 2013-2019 tax years, with estimated unpaid balances totaling approximately $426,000. The liens were tied to “small business/self-employed” taxes, according to the documents.

A federal tax lien is the government’s “legal claim against your estate when you neglect or fail to pay a tax debt,” according to the IRS.

Liens filed in two Georgia counties were not released until October 2025 after payment was met. An IRS certification for the release of federal tax liens shows that the liens associated with the 2012-2018 tax years totaled $354,791.63 and were subsequently released on October 15, 2025, according to documents obtained by Fox Digital. The second release shows a lien associated with the 2019 tax year totaling $71,313.11 and was issued on October 29, 2025.

However, Anderson’s public financial disclosure report, called OGE Form 278e, only lists one mortgage in the liabilities section — and no disclosures of federal tax liens or IRS liability, according to documents obtained by Fox News Digital. OGE Form 278e provides typical details and detailed information about Anderson’s assets, prior employment, and income.

The Office of Government Ethics’ guidance on OGE Form 278e directs filers to report outstanding liabilities in excess of $10,000 at any time during the reporting period.

Anderson signed the OGE form on August 14, 2025, according to the document obtained by Fox News Digital.

Anderson’s OGE Form 278e and a separate ethics document Anderson sent to the State Department’s Office of Legal Counsel were added to the Office of Government Ethics’ system to track financial and ethics disclosures on Sept. 21, 2025, Fox News Digital found.

Fox News Digital repeatedly reached out to the State Department, inquiring specifically why Anderson did not disclose the liens related to the liabilities section of OGE 278e, if he filed an amended financial disclosure to add any IRS liability or lien after the initial filing, and when the department was first notified of the liens.

The ICAO Ambassador works under the authority of the Minister of Foreign Affairs upon appointment.

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

A review of other candidates listed in the OGE disclosure database shows that individuals modified their ethics disclosures amid the audit process. Anderson’s filing does not reflect any general amendments to his initial disclosures.

Public financial disclosure is an essential part of the nominations screening process. Federal ethics rules and guidelines generally require candidates to disclose major liabilities incurred during the reporting period.

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

International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) headquarters in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, September 30, 2025. (Graham Hughes/Norphoto via Getty Images)

A former Trump official told Fox Digital about this: “Everyone has setbacks. That’s not the problem.” “The problem is lying to Congress and misleading President Trump. Jeffrey Anderson levied the IRS for more than $426,000, held federal tax liens for years, and then tried to sneak past Senate confirmation by hiding them in a sworn disclosure. Federal tax liens are not optional, and they don’t magically disappear.”

The former official added that most “Americans don’t come with half a million dollars just to hide the scandal,” while saying that Anderson’s “record of donating to anti-Trump politicians” leads to a candidacy that will collapse in on itself.

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The role of the International Civil Aviation Organization has been vacant for years

Anderson’s nomination for this position comes after years of remaining in the slumber of American leadership. This role was last filled by former ambassador, famed aviator Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, who resigned in 2022.

Sullenberger received widespread applause in 2009, when an American Airlines pilot landed Flight 1549 on the Hudson River after a bird strike disabled both engines and rescued 155 people — an event known as the “Miracle of the Hudson.”

Anderson’s nomination had been delayed since July 2025, with it being returned to the president on January 3, 2026 under Senate Rule 31, a technicality, and Trump sent Anderson’s nomination back to the Senate days later.

Anderson’s nomination received opposition from the Airline Pilots Association, A.D Union This represented nearly 80,000 pilots across the United States and Canada, arguing that his “single” qualifications were supporting efforts to raise the mandatory pilot retirement age.

The union opposes increasing mandatory retirement from age 65 to 67, saying it would “leave the United States out of global aviation and create chaos in pilot employment and international and domestic flight operations,” the group said in a statement. July 2025 reading.

International aviation rules prohibit airline pilots over the age of 65 from flying. Some global airline groups have called on the International Civil Aviation Organization to consider raising the retirement age for international pilots to 67, citing recruitment pressures and that retaining veteran pilots will only enhance airline safety.

Fox News Digital previously reported that Anderson also had close financial ties to Democrats and other politicians often hostile to Trump and his policies.

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“Jeffrey Anderson is not a Trump Republican at all; he is a sleepy liberal who has slipped through the cracks of the presidential staff office,” a former Trump official told Fox Digital about Anderson’s political donations and tax history in August 2025.

Former Delta pilot Jeff Anderson was nominated to serve as U.S. ambassador to the International Civil Aviation Organization in July. (Istock)

Anderson has made a handful of small-dollar donations to Republicans Nikki Haley During the 2024 campaign cycle, when the former US ambassador to the United Nations ran against Trump, whom she criticized as “troubled” on the campaign trail before withdrawing from the race and endorsing Trump as the GOP’s presidential nominee.

The former pilot also donated to the former Democratic opponent who tried to unseat then-Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in the 2024 session, according to donation filings previously reported by Fox News Digital. Anderson’s political donations to Democrats go back years, including 2017 when he donated to Democrats, such as former House candidate Dan Ward in Virginia and former Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon.

Texas Republican Rep. Troy Nehls, who serves as chairman Home transportation and the Aviation Infrastructure Subcommittee, told Fox Digital in August 2025 that Anderson would help usher in a “golden age of aviation” if confirmed.

“Mr. Anderson served as a Navy aviator and has more than three decades of experience as a Delta pilot,” Niles said in August. “He is undoubtedly qualified to represent the United States of America at ICAO, where his first-hand experience in the aviation industry will play a critical role in advancing President Trump’s mission of ushering in the Golden Age of Aviation.”

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President Donald Trump has nominated Jeff Anderson to serve as U.S. ambassador to the office. (Graham Hughes/AFP/Getty Images)

“I fully support President Trump and his ‘America First’ agenda. I have been fully vetted by the Election Commission.” The white house We appreciate the endorsement of the President, House Aviation Chairman Troy Niles, and House T&I Chairman Sam Graves, among others. “I look forward to advancing American interests as the next permanent representative to ICAO,” Anderson wrote in a LinkedIn direct message to Fox Digital in August 2025, adding that Trump seeks to “effectively move forward in a space that Biden has neglectfully left vacant.”

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

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