Huntsman confirmation hearing begins Tuesday

WASHINGTON D.C. – After months of waiting, Jon Huntsman, Jr., will go before the Senate committee to be possibly confirmed as the new ambassador to Russia.  Political analysts expect very little resistance to his confirmation.

Some analysts say, if you look at Huntsman’s track record, it’s hard to say he’s not qualified to be the next ambassador.  Hinckley Institute of Politics Director Jason Perry says his ambassadorships to Singapore and China are considered successes by people on both sides of the political aisle.

He says, “This will be his fourth time coming before the Senate, and, so far, he has never received a single ‘nay’ vote.”

Although the issues the United States have with China are vastly different to the issues we have with Russia, Perry says the language of diplomacy is always the same.

He adds, “When you look at the impact of those relationships with places like North Korea, [Russia and China] are the relationships the United States is going to need to leverage to get control of what is happening there.”

University of Utah Political Science Professor Tim Chambless says Russia and China want some of the same things the United States want.

“These are countries that want stability.  They do not want chaos or the threat of chaos,” Chambless says.

If there are any political “fireworks during the hearing, they likely won’t be about Huntsman’s credentials.

Chambless says, “Where the difficulty may be is some of the questioning by members of the committee in regards to Russia, with regard to the election for President in 2016 and the ongoing investigation being conducted by Robert Mueller.”

He adds that Huntsman was not part of President Trump’s campaign, so these could be questions that he’s not in a position to answer, yet.