Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s nomination as ambassador to China is finally in the hands of the U.S. Senate, although it remains unclear how soon he could be headed to Beijing.

Huntsman's was one of 14 nominations sent late Monday by President Barack Obama to the Senate for confirmation.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is expected to set a date for Huntsman's confirmation hearing sometime before Congress' August recess.

Huntsman has said he will resign once the full Senate confirms him, allowing Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert to become governor. Now that could come before the end of summer.

"Gov. Huntsman is very excited to have this process moving forward," his spokeswoman, Lisa Roskelley, said.

She said Huntsman, who is currently in Utah, will return to Washington, D.C., soon to begin meeting with key senators. Those include members of the Foreign Relations Committee, chaired by Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.

Obama, a Democrat, surprised many by announcing in mid-May he was nominating a Republican — and a possible rival for the White House — for what is seen as the nation's most important ambassador post.

Huntsman had not been formally vetted at the time of the announcement, so that process had to be completed before the administration was ready to send his nomination to the Senate.

The governor's office spent weeks assembling huge amounts of personal data on Huntsman, finally finishing the required paperwork just before the holiday weekend. He also underwent an extensive FBI background check.

Huntsman has already gone through the confirmation process twice successfully, to serve as U.S. ambassador to Singapore and later, as a U.S. trade representative to Asia, where he negotiated agreements with China. He also speaks fluent Mandarin.

Ever since he stood by Obama in the White House for the announcement, Huntsman has stayed out of the public eye. He has spent much of his time in Washington being briefed by administration officials.

Herbert has all but taken over the governor's public role, although Huntsman will remain in charge until his resignation. Herbert has named a transition director and is actively searching for both a spokesperson and his own lieutenant governor.

Monday's action by the White House "helps everyone in the transition to understand some timelines that hadn't been clear," said Herbert's chief of staff, Joe Demma. "It's a big day for our governor for this process to be formally under way."

Still, Demma said, it remains to be seen exactly when Herbert will become governor. "Clearly, what's in the best interest of Utahns is to have some sort of sense when this will occur," he said. "I think that's what we're all sort of looking for still."

E-MAIL: lisa@desnews.com