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Trump picks replacement for Utah’s Jon Huntsman as U.S ambassador to Russia

Washington • President Donald Trump is nominating the No. 2 official at the State Department to be the next U.S. ambassador to Russia.

Trump announced Friday that he’s picked John Sullivan, deputy secretary of state, for the post. He’ll replace John Huntsman who announced in August that he was resigning and returning home to Utah.

Sullivan, who held senior positions in the Justice, Defense and Commerce departments in both Bush administrations, was mentioned Friday in former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch's deposition to the Democrats' impeachment inquiry.

She said Sullivan was the one who told her that her tenure in the job was being curtailed.