White House withdraws former Delta pilot for international aviation post

The White House has withdrawn its nomination of former Delta Air Lines pilot Jeffrey Anderson to serve as US ambassador to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The decision came after opposition from a major airline pilots’ union, according to Reuters. Anderson had been nominated in July 2025 by the Trump administration, but he never received a confirmation hearing. The White House did not give reasons for the withdrawal and Anderson did not comment. The Air Line Pilots Association, representing more than 79,000 pilots across 42 US and Canadian airlines, had criticized his nomination as unqualified and noted his support for raising the mandatory pilot retirement age. The ICAO post has been vacant since July 2022, when C.B. “Sully” Sullenberger stepped down.