President Barack Obama now knows that Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s son, Will, hopes to be captain of the Judge Memorial High School football team next year.

In his first press conference in Utah since accepting the president's offer to become the U.S. ambassador to China, Huntsman revealed Monday he and his wife, Mary Kaye, talked privately with Obama in the Oval Office a week ago Saturday about their concerns over how the job would affect their family.

"The two of us spent about a half-hour with the president, Barack Obama, just the three of us," the governor said. "I now know why they built the Oval Office. It's an impossible room in which to say, 'No.' "

Huntsman, who took no questions, announced Monday he'll stay in office until the U.S. Senate confirms his appointment.

He pledged to help Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert get ready to assume the governor's office in the coming weeks, saying he would not resign until the confirmation process is complete.

That timetable, Huntsman said, is unpredictable and completely up to the Senate. While he waits, he said, he will prepare for the hearings, and Herbert will take over public events. "I think this is important not only for the public to see Gary in this position, but also for Gary" to become more comfortable in the role, Huntsman said.

He called his lieutenant governor "a wonderful partner" who has had unparalleled outreach to rural areas of the state as well as impact on water policy and homeland security.

Herbert, who ran against Huntsman in 2004 and has made no secret of ambition to become governor, joked with reporters that he wanted to "thank President Barack Obama for taking my phone calls over these last few months."

He said he had not yet decided who he'll ask to serve as his lieutenant governor, but does expect to run in the special election in 2010 for the remainder of Huntsman's term.

The former Utah County commissioner said the differences between him and the governor on issues have been exaggerated because "on core issues, we are in lockstep." Herbert said he has already asked members of the governor's cabinet to remain in their positions.

"There's not going to be any big shake-up or any big changes," the lieutenant governor said. "We're not going to veer to the left or the right."

He said he agreed with the governor that EnergySolutions should not be allowed to accept foreign nuclear waste in Utah. The reason, Herbert said, is that there is already too much domestic waste to deal with. He said he did not support expanding the Tooele disposal facility.