A sensitive new mission for Jon Huntsman, former US envoy in China: Trump’s ambassador to Russia

Former Utah governor, ambassador to China and 2012 presidential candidate Jon Huntsman Jr has been picked by President Donald Trump to be the US ambassador to Russia, according to a White House official, a high-profile post at a time when relations between the two nations are even more complicated and political than usual.

Trump has offered Huntsman the position, according to the official, who asked not to be identified because the position hasn’t been formally announced. The federal government has launched multiple investigations into Russia’s interference in the 2016 US presidential election and potential contacts between Moscow and the Trump campaign.

Reuters reported that Huntsman had accepted Trump’s offer also citing a White House source.

Huntsman, 56, has previously served as an ambassador under both Republican and Democratic presidents. He was ambassador to Singapore under former President George H.W. Bush, before being selected by former President Barack Obama as ambassador to China.

During last year’s presidential campaign, Huntsman showed uncertainty about the eventual winner. After endorsing Trump in April 2016, he called for him to withdraw from the race in October 2016, following the release of an Access Hollywood video that showed Trump making sexually demeaning comments about women.

Huntsman is currently chairman of the Atlantic Council, an international affairs think tank.