“He’s an Obama appointee.”
I believe that Home State Senators (Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee) have a big say in the US Attorney appointments in their states, like they do with federal judges.
Utah is among the most Conservative in the whole country - their judges and prosecutors tend to reflect that.
Prior to his nomination by Obama, John Huber had been a career prosecutor in Utah, who had worked his way up to being National Security Section chief and the Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney - so it seems that he was an internal hire (next in line) rather than a political appointee being dropped in by Obama.
Utah is among the most Conservative in the whole country - their judges and prosecutors tend to reflect that.
You mistakenly assume GOPe conservatism and Trump MAGA are one and the same. Utah is among the most important Never Trump ground zeros. With Bishop Romney headed to DC to replace McCain as the leading Never Trumper I don’t have a good feeling about this appointment.