Mike has every good intention, and I say that because I worked with Mike. – Jon Huntsman Jr.
SALT LAKE CITY — There seems to be some disagreement about Sen. Mike Lee in the Huntsman family.
Utah businessman and philanthropist Jon Huntsman Sr. called the Republican senator an "embarrassment" to the state last month. On Tuesday, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. described him as "brilliant."
"Mike has every good intention, and I say that because I worked with Mike," Huntsman Jr. said. "I don't know of too many people in the legislative branch who are as brilliant as Mike Lee, his understanding of the Constitution, his ability to legislate."
His comments came during a podcast interview with conservative commentator and blogger Matt K. Lewis in Alexandria, Virginia.
Huntsman Jr. noted that Lee worked as his general counsel when he served as governor and that he mentored Lee in some ways.
"I say he’s well intentioned. I think on the execution side maybe he's made a couple of mistakes that he would probably even do over if he had to. But in terms of basic raw material for getting things done and articulating a conservative message, Mike is a pretty impressive guy, I have to tell you," said Huntsman Jr., a 2012 GOP presidential candidate.
Huntsman Jr. said his dad has his own views on things and that the 2013 federal government shutdown that hurt the Huntsman Cancer Institute was a sensitive thing for him.
Lee's popularity dipped in Utah as result of standing with Sen Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on the shutdown. But Huntsman Jr. said he has rebounded.
"Unless there's any viable opposition that emerges, which is unlikely, I think Mike will be re-elected if he chooses to do that," he said. "I suspect he'll be pretty strong."
Last month, Huntsman Sr. said "Mike Lee is an embarrassment to the state of Utah" in an article posted to Politico.com about Utah's junior senator bracing for a primary challenge in 2016 from the state's political establishment.
Politico reported that “some powerful establishment Republicans in Utah are tired of Lee’s hardline positions and could make him the nation’s first tea party senator ousted by that wing of the GOP."
Huntsman Sr. also described Lee as "an extremist" whose role in the government shutdown cost the cancer institute millions of dollars and hurt businesses located outside national parks.
Email: romboy@deseretnews.com, Twitter: dennisromboy