SALT LAKE CITY — Former Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. was expected to already be in place as the U.S. ambassador to Russia to help ready President Donald Trump for his high-stakes meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Friday.

But Huntsman hasn't been formally nominated for the key diplomatic post even though the White House confirmed he was Trump's pick back in March. Now, the soonest he could be confirmed by the U.S. Senate is likely September.

Huntsman, a Republican who stepped down Utah's governor in 2009 to serve as U.S. ambassador to China under former Democratic President Barack Obama, has repeatedly declined to comment on his role with the Trump administration.

Rep. Chris Stewart, a member of the House Intelligence Committee leading one of the congressional investigations into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election and possible collusion with Trump, said Huntsman's appointment is still on track.

"What we're told and what I believe is there's no underlying reason, as in there's not opposition from either side. There's no reason to believe this won't go forward. It's just been frustratingly slow," said Stewart, R-Utah.

Stewart said he'd be surprised if Huntsman or the replacement for the recalled Russian ambassador to the United States were a topic of discussion when Trump and Putin meet because there are "other items of higher priority and higher interest."

University of Utah political science professor Marjorie Castle, whose expertise is in Russian and European politics, said Huntsman's nomination may finally be announced in conjunction with the meeting.

"That's fine, if this is used as a symbol of a fresh approach in U.S.-Russia relations," Castle said, cautioning that should not imply that the United States consulted with the Russians about Huntsman, or sought approval.

"You just don't do that," she said.

Foreign governments rarely exercise the power to reject an ambassador, according to Castle. "Certainly, there's no precedent of doing horse trades with ambassadorships. There's no, 'I'll send you this guy if you send me that guy.'"

Russia is in the midst of replacing its longtime U.S. ambassador Sergey Kislyak, amid probes by the FBI and Congress into his contact with members of Trump's campaign, including those who went on to positions in the administration.

Castle said the delay in Huntsman's appointment could be intentional, "waiting for the appropriate moment or the politically most useful moment." Or, she said, it could be the result of the administration's disorganization.

Of the 564 key positions Trump has to fill, there are formal nominations for 130 and confirmations for 46, according to a tabulation by the Washington Post. Huntsman is one of four appointments that have been announced but not acted upon.

BYU political science professor Scott Cooper, also an expert on Russian politics, said the time it's taking for Huntsman's appointment is "only strange unless you look at the overall pattern" of the Trump administration.

"There might be some rationale on the Trump administration side. It might just be that they have been slow on everything," Cooper said, calling Huntsman "maybe the safest choice" made by the president.

It may be that the Trump administration wants "someone with totally clean hands when it comes to Russia, given all the problems they're having," he said, while the Russians appear to want to "remove a lightening rod from Washington."

Chris Karpowitz, co-director of BYU's Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy, said Huntsman's situation is just more "evidence of dysfunction in the White House and administration."

Huntsman should be concerned about working for a president who regularly makes foreign policy pronouncements on Twitter, undermining formal decision-making channels, he said.

"If I were Jon Huntsman, I would be worried about how much power and influence I would have and how much the president will undermine ambassadors," he said. "Just bluster from the White House doesn't solve the problem. Neither does a tweet."

The issue is not partisan, Karpowitz said, adding that both Republicans and Democrats should be concerned when the president is not taking advantage of the experience and knowledge someone like Huntsman can bring.

Trump's campaign promise to "upend government functioning as we know it. That could have some positives. But it also has some pretty big negatives," he said, including how the United States is represented on the world stage.

Jason Perry, head of the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics, said the the Group of 20 economic summit in Germany, where the meeting between Trump and Putin will take place, could prompt action on Huntsman's appointment.

"The consensus is he would be invaluable immediately to the Trump administration," Perry said, particularly in meetings that "have worldwide ramifications, and you need people who know how to be diplomatic."

Perry said after a week of "bilateral discussions with the big power players in the world, the Trump administration may very well come out of these meetings recognizing these are appointments that have to be taken care of sooner rather than later."