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Trump pick for UN aviation office has long history donating to Dems, Nikki Haley
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The nominee President Donald Trump tapped to serve as ambassador to a United Nations office charged with overseeing global aviation standards has a checkered tax history and background donating to Democrats and political opponents of the president, a Fox News Digital review of the nominee’s public records found.
The White House and Trump allies, however, have doubled down in support of the nominee, saying he will assist the administration in «ushering in the Golden Age of aviation.»
Jeffrey Anderson was tapped to lead the International Civil Aviation Organization in July, when the White House published a list of nominations to fill various roles, from the International Civil Aviation Organization ambassadorship to director of the Mint to membership with the National Labor Relations Board. Anderson is a U.S. Navy veteran who worked as a commercial airline captain for more than 34 years, retiring from that role earlier in 2025, according to his LinkedIn.
The International Civil Aviation Organization is a U.N. office based in Montreal that is charged with overseeing international aviation standards, including issues related to safety, navigation and environmental protection. The role had sat vacant for the past three years, when the former ambassador, pilot Chesley «Sully» Sullenberger, stepped down in 2022.
Sullenberger gained widespread applause in 2009, when the US Airways pilot landed Flight 1549 on the Hudson River after a bird strike disabled both engines — an event known as the «Miracle on the Hudson.»
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President Donald Trump’s administration has doubled down on its support of Jeff Anderson as ambassador to the International Civil Aviation Organization in comment to Fox Digital. (Mark Schiefelbein/The Associated Press )
Anderson is a former Delta Air Lines pilot whose nomination drew ire from the Air Line Pilots Association, a union that represents nearly 80,000 pilots across the U.S. and Canada, arguing his «only» qualification was supporting an effort to raise the mandatory pilot retirement age.
The union opposes increasing the mandatory retirement from 65 years of age to 67, arguing it «would leave the United States as an outlier in the global aviation space and create chaos on pilot labor, and international and domestic flight operations,» the group’s statement in July read.
Fox News Digital took a look back at Anderson’s political campaign contributions and found he donated to a handful of Democratic candidates often hostile to Trump and his policies.
He also made a handful of small dollar donations to Republican Nikki Haley during the 2024 campaign cycle, when the former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. ran against Trump, whom she slammed as «unhinged» while on the campaign trail before dropping out of the race and endorsing Trump as the GOP nominee for president.
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Anderson contributed at least $200 to Haley during the month of February 2024, when Haley and Trump were the only GOP candidates left in the primary race, according to four small dollar donations recorded by the Federal Election Commission.
The former pilot also donated to Shawn Harris, the former Democratic opponent who tried to unseat Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in the 2024 cycle. The $100 donation was made in September 2024 through ActBlue, the Democratic Party’s massive fundraising arm, and earmarked for the Democratic candidate who ultimately failed to oust Greene.
Harris’ campaign included slamming Trump and characterizing him as a politician who acts as a «king» and threatens democracy.
Former Delta pilot Jeff Anderson was nominated to serve as U.S. ambassador to the ICAO in July. (Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Anderson’s political donations to Democrats stretch back years, including in 2017 when he donated to Democrats, such as former House candidate Dan Ward in Virginia and former Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon — both of whom received $250 contributions from Anderson that year, according to election records.
Both Democrats had slammed Trump and his policies across his first administration, including DeFazio declaring after the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the Capitol that: «Donald Trump is a threat to our democracy, national security and the safety of all Americans. He must be removed from office immediately.»
The International Civil Aviation Organization’s office in Montreal, Canada. President Trump nominated Jeff Anderson to serve as U.S. ambassador to the office. (Getty Images)
The former Delta pilot has also landed in hot water over unpaid taxes, Fox News Digital found. IRS records show Anderson and his wife had over $426,000 in unpaid federal taxes across seven years from 2013 to 2019, raising concerns that his financial responsibility. The taxes were related to a «small business,» according to the forms.
«Jeffrey Anderson isn’t a Trump Republican at all; he’s a liberal sleeper who slipped through the cracks of PPO (Presidential Personnel Office),» a former Trump official told Fox Digital of Anderson’s political donations and tax history.
When approached for comment on the previous donations and tax issues, Anderson told Fox News Digital that at «the very least, some of your information is factually incorrect or tendered well out of context.» Anderson did not respond when asked for additional details on what was «factually incorrect.»
«At the very least, some of your information is factually incorrect or tendered well out of context. I am fully supportive of President Trump and his America First agenda. I have been fully vetted by the White House and appreciate the approval of the President, House Aviation Chair Troy Nehls and House T&I Chair Sam Graves, among others. I look forward to advancing American interests as the next Permanent Representative to ICAO,» he wrote in a direct message on LinkedIn to Fox Digital in August, while adding that Trump is seeking to «move effectively forward in a space negligently left vacant by Biden.»
When asked about Anderson’s tax history and donations to Democrats and Trump opponents, a White House official told Fox Digital: «Jeffrey Alderson is highly qualified to serve as America’s ambassador to the ICAO, and he is a great choice to represent the President’s America First foreign policy agenda in the international aviation community.»
Fox News Digital additionally reached out to the State Department, which helps manage the vetting of potential ambassador nominees, for comment and was directed the White House’s statement.
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The former pilot himself also floated a run for political office more than a decade ago in Georgia as a Democrat, according to a local Georgia news report that called him «prospective Democratic Congressional candidate Jeff Anderson.» In an opinion piece published that same year, titled «The sinking Democratic Party in Georgia is bad news for everyone,» Anderson was described as a «a 2010 Independent candidate for the U.S. House in Georgia’s 11th District.»
While old social media posts on X show Anderson celebrated former President Biden’s 2012 DNC speech at the time as «wonderful American message: major concepts, not petty; Democratic, but not commercially political.» While other tweets targeted the NRA and celebrated how Anderson «politely but firmly faced» NRA representatives and gun manufacturers on «sensible policy ideals» back in 2023, according to a review of the X account @JeffAndersonPAI that ceased activity back in 2014.
Rep. Troy Nehls told Fox Digital that Jeff Anderson as ambassador to the ICAO will help usher in «the Golden Age of aviation» under the Trump administration (Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images) (Nathan Posner)
In addition to the White House defending Anderson’s nomination, Texas Republican Rep. Troy Nehls, who serves as chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation, told Fox Digital that Anderson will help usher in «the Golden Age of aviation» under the Trump administration.
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«As Chairman of the House Aviation Subcommittee, I have complete confidence in Jeffrey Anderson to serve as ambassador to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO),» Nehls said in comment to Fox Digital in August. «Mr. Anderson served as a naval aviator and has more than three decades of experience as a pilot for Delta. He is, without a doubt, qualified to represent the United States of America at ICAO, where his first-hand experience with the aviation industry will play a crucial role in advancing President Trump’s mission of ushering in the Golden Age of aviation.»
A board member of a pilots group called Experienced Pilots Advancing Aviation Safety, added that he fully backs Anderson’s nomination, citing his honesty and credentials as an airline captain. The Experienced Pilots Advancing Aviation Safety, which endorsed Anderson’s nomination, also advocates raising the mandatory retirement age for airline pilots, arguing experienced pilots lead to safer skies and can mentor the next generation instead of «forced retirements of America’s most experienced aviators,» according to its website.
«I feel 100% confident in Captain Anderson’s honesty and professional credentials. Having flown aircraft around the world in international operations for the past 40 years in the Marine Corps and Delta Airlines, and my working with and in association with ICAO and IATA, I feel Jeff would be a perfect fit for this position as it seems the president of the United States does also,» the board member told Fox Digital in emailed comment earlier in August.
International aviation rules currently prohibit airline pilots older than 65 from flying. Global airline groups such as the International Air Transport Association has called on the ICAO to consider raising the international pilot retirement age to 67. The UN General Assembly will convene on Sept. 23, with the ICAO expected to consider the proposal, Reuters reported on Thursday.
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Anderson’s nomination was sent to the Senate in July, and was then referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. The nomination is currently awaiting final confirmation proceedings.
elections,nikki haley,travel,airlines,united nations,donald trump
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The race against time to destroy Iran’s illicit nuclear weapons program heats up amid fresh strikes
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The Iranian regime’s retention of key nuclear weapons facilities and its material for building atomic bombs — highly enriched uranium — has led to new efforts by the U.S. and Israeli militaries to take out the last vestiges of the regime’s program.
On Friday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that, that it’s «Air Force Struck the Arak Heavy Water Plant—A Key Plutonium Production Site for Nuclear Weapons.» The Arak plant is located in central Iran.
Prior to Friday’s attack, an IDF spokesperson told Fox News Digital concerning Arak, that there is a «high estimation» that attacks on «uranium enrichment sites are part of the plan.» The IDF declined to answer more specific questions about its target list and if any ground operations to retrieve the nuclear weapons-grade uranium were being considered.
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An IDF infographic shows Iran’s Arak heavy water plant, described as a key infrastructure for plutonium production. (IDF)
Reuters, quoting regime media outlet Fars, reported that joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Friday hit the Khondab heavy water research reactor.
A statement released by the IDF said, «Heavy water is a unique material used to operate nuclear reactors, such as the inactive Arak reactor, which was originally designed to have weapons-grade plutonium production capabilities. These materials can also be used as a neutron source for nuclear weapons.»
The IDF statement added that «The plant was a significant economic asset for the terror regime and served as a source of income for the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, generating tens of millions of dollars for the regime each year.»
The regime’s foreign minister posted a condemnation of Israel and warned the Jewish state, «Iran will exact HEAVY price for Israeli crimes.»
According to an article published by the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), «The IR-40 Arak, aka Khondab, Heavy Water Reactor and Heavy Water Production Plant date to the early 2000s… The reactor core design was ideal for making substantial amounts of weapon-grade plutonium for nuclear weapons.»
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Jason Brodsky, the policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), told Fox News Digital, «The one nuclear site which hasn’t been hit to date has been Pickaxe Mountain, so striking that site as part of Operation Epic Fury will be important to further degrade the Iranian nuclear program.»
A White House spokesperson referred Fox News Digital to President Trump’s cabinet meeting comments about Iran’s nuclear weapons program. Trump said on Thursday, «We’re free to roam over their cities and towns and destroy all of their crazy nuclear weapons and missiles and drones that they’re building.»
A map shows damage to Iran’s Fordow nuclear site after being struck by the United States in Operation Midnight Hammer on June 22, 2025. (Fox News)
David Albright, a physicist, founder and president of the Institute for Science and International Security told Fox News Digital that with respect to key nuclear weapons facilities that remain, «The elephants in the tent are Natanz and Isfahan. There was an attack on Natanz that the Iranians revealed, but the Israelis said we are not aware of an attack. So it must have been the U.S.,» he claimed.
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He said that Natanz has enriched uranium. «The Iranians were doing recovery operations in the underground fuel enrichment plant there and continuing to build this pickaxe mountain tunnel complex, which could hold enriched uranium. Right next to it is another tunnel complex that was built much earlier, around 2007… And the Iranians sealed it up, fortified it. There is something obviously important there.»
Albright said U.S. and Israeli airstrikes «have not attacked the underground Isfahan site. We know, according to the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency], highly enriched uranium is in that site.» He continued that, «There may be an enrichment plant under construction in that underground complex. We would like that site to be attacked.»
Iranian worshippers hold up their hands as signs of unity with Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during an anti-Israeli rally to condemn Israel’s attacks on Iran, in downtown Tehran, Iran, on June 20, 2025. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Albright warned that the war should not end like the previous U.S.-Israel war with Iran in 2025 with Tehran retaining the «crown jewels» of its atomic weapons program: highly enriched uranium and a number of centrifuges.
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He warned, «You don’t want it to come out of this war with the same kind of nuclear weapons capabilities that it had at the end of June war with a higher incentive to build a bomb.» He added, that is why it’s so important ‘to finish the job,» in Iran.
war with iran, israel, nuclear proliferation, conflicts
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Biden judge freezes Trump admin move against AI firm, fueling battle over security authority
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A federal judge’s decision to block the Trump administration from banning AI firm Anthropic from Department of War use is igniting a debate over whether the ruling pushes courts into national security decision-making.
The ruling, issued late Thursday by U.S. District Judge Rita Lin, a Biden appointee to the Northern District of California, pauses the administration’s broader effort to bar the company while the case proceeds, though it does not explicitly require the Pentagon to use Anthropic. The judge also gave the government one week to appeal.
Under Secretary of War Emil Michael wrote on X that the ruling contained «dozens of factual errors» and was issued «during a time of conflict,» arguing it «seeks to upend the (president’s) role as Commander in Chief» and disrupt the department’s ability to conduct military operations.
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Michael said the administration views Anthropic as still designated a supply chain risk pending appeal, signaling officials are disputing the scope and effect of the court’s injunction.
Lin said the Pentagon’s move to designate Anthropic as a national security risk was «likely both contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious.»
«Nothing in the governing statute supports the Orwellian notion that an American company may be branded a potential adversary and saboteur of the U.S. for expressing disagreement with the government,» Lin said.
«Can a judge order the Department of War to use a vendor that is a security risk? No, but also yes? Judge Lin (Biden N.D. California) tries to stop President Trump/Secretary Hegseth from banning Anthropic. But acknowledges they can choose not to use it?» one X user Eric Wess wrote on the social media platform.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth is named in the lawsuit, along with other defendants. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)
War Secretary Pete Hegseth had warned Anthropic it would face termination of its $200 million contract or be designated a supply chain risk if it did not allow its AI platform to be approved for all lawful uses. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Others described the ruling as «pure judicial activism» and accused the judge of interfering in a national security decision.
But supporters of the decision — including a bipartisan group of nearly 150 retired federal and state judges — say the administration overstepped, warning the Pentagon’s use of a «supply chain risk» designation appeared improperly applied and could chill free speech and legitimate business activity.
In a March 3 letter, the Pentagon had notified Anthropic it would be designated a supply chain risk to national security. That designation ordered that no contractor, supplier or partner doing business with the United States military may conduct commercial activity with Anthropic.
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The legal fight follows a broader dispute between the Pentagon and Anthropic over how the company’s AI system, Claude, can be used in military operations. Claude is the only commercial AI system approved for classified use.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth had warned Anthropic it would face termination of its $200 million contract, awarded in July 2025, or be designated a supply chain risk if it did not allow its AI platform to be approved for all lawful uses.
Anthropic insisted it would not allow Claude to be used for fully autonomous weapons or mass surveillance of Americans.
Pentagon officials say such uses already are not permitted, emphasizing that humans remain in the loop for lethal decisions and that the military does not conduct domestic surveillance, but maintain that private companies cannot dictate how their systems are used in lawful operations.
Lin pointed to the breadth of the measures — including a government-wide ban and contractor restrictions — saying they did not appear «tailored to the stated national security concern» and instead «look(ed) like an attempt to cripple Anthropic.
Hegseth described CEO Dario Amodei and Anthropic of a «master class in arrogance» and a «textbook case of how not to do business with the United States Government.» (Samyukta Lakshmi/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Anthropic welcomed the decision, saying in a statement: «We’re grateful to the court for moving swiftly, and pleased they agree Anthropic is likely to succeed on the merits.»
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Hegseth described CEO Dario Amodei and Anthropic of a «master class in arrogance» and a «textbook case of how not to do business with the United States Government» in a Feb. 27 post on X.
OpenAI has emerged as a key alternative, securing a Pentagon deal to deploy its models on classified systems as tensions with Anthropic escalated.
Still, Anthropic has not been fully displaced — its Claude system remains deeply embedded in military workflows, and replacing it would take time.
pentagon, artificial intelligence, federal courts
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