Deputy secretary of state expected to be selected for US ambassador to Russia

President Donald Trump is expected to select Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan to replace Jon Huntsman as US Ambassador to Russia, according to a White House official.

Posted 6:39 p.m. Aug 20, 2019 — Updated 6:39 p.m. Aug 20, 2019

Jim Acosta

and

Caroline Kelly, CNN

CNN — President Donald Trump is expected to select Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan to replace Jon Huntsman as US Ambassador to Russia, according to a White House official.

CNN reported earlier this month that Huntsman has submitted his resignation letter to Trump and plans to move back home to Utah, according to a source familiar with his thinking.

Sullivan was a partner at Mayer Brown in Washington and co-chaired the law firm's national security practice before being nominated as former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's deputy in April 2017. He previously served as chairman of the United States-Iraq Business Dialogue, a government advisory committee that dealt with US-Iraq economic relations, and held senior positions at the Justice, Defense and Commerce departments.

Huntsman's resignation is effective October 3 and there is some speculation that he is planning to run for governor of Utah, a role he previous served in from 2005 to 2009. However, a source close to Huntsman told CNN that decision is still up in the air, saying, "We shall see, it's been a long two years."

This is a breaking story and will be updated.

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