Republican former Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona announces dementia diagnosis
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- Republican former Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona announced his withdrawal from public life after a dementia diagnosis at age 83.
- Kyl represented Arizona in Congress for nearly three decades, including a term as Senate minority whip before retiring in 2013.
- Known for water policy expertise, he negotiated tribal water rights settlements and later lobbied for Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
PHOENIX — Republican former U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona on Tuesday announced his withdrawal from public life after a dementia diagnosis.
Kyl, 83, represented Arizona in both chambers of Congress for nearly three decades. Most of those years were in the Senate, including a term as minority whip.
“My family and I now head down a path filled with moments of joy and increasing difficulties,” Kyl said in a statement. “I am grateful beyond expression for their love and support, in these coming days as in all the days of my life. Despite this diagnosis, I remain a very fortunate man.”
Kyl left the Senate in 2013 and joined the lobbying firm Covington and Burling. In 2018 he was appointed by then-Gov. Doug Ducey, a fellow Republican, to fill the vacancy after the death of Sen. John McCain. Kyl served several months before rejoining the lobbying firm.
Kyl leveraged his expertise on water policy in Congress to gain approval of tribal water rights settlements, said Sarah Porter of Arizona State University. He was an “important participant” in negotiations that created the state’s water rules, said Porter, director of the university’s Kyl Center for Water Policy that is named after the former senator.
As a lobbyist, Kyl helped guide the confirmation of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh.
Govindarao writes for the Associated Press.
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