Foreign affairs

Huntsman to be nominated ambassador to Russia

President Donald Trump intends to formally nominate former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, Jr. as ambassador to Russia, the White House announced on Tuesday.

Huntsman, who ran for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012, previously served as U.S. ambassador to China and to Singapore.

He is currently serving as the chairman of both the Atlantic Council, a foreign policy think tank, and the Huntsman Cancer Foundation.

Huntsman was elected governor of Utah in 2004 and re-elected four years later. He resigned seven months into his second term to become ambassador to China under the Obama administration.

He resigned to launch his 2012 presidential campaign but wound up dropping out of the race after finishing third in the New Hampshire primary.

Huntsman had already accepted Trump's offer earlier this year. Now the nomination needs to be confirmed by the Senate.