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Former Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., is dead at the age of 84, his family announced Thursday.
Kyl was first sworn in to the Senate in 1995, retiring in 2013. He briefly returned to the Senate in 2018 after former Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., died.
Kyl announced he was stepping away from public life in December 2025 after receiving a diagnosis of a neurological disease that resulted in his development of dementia.
Before his election to the Senate, Kyl was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1987 to 1995.
Sen Jon Kyl (R-AZ) departs the weekly Republican policy luncheon on September 25, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, who appointed Kyl to fill McCain’s seat in 2018, paid his respects to the former Senator in a Thursday post on X.
“Jon Kyl gave Arizona nearly three decades of principled, thoughtful leadership — and he gave me something just as valuable: his mentorship and friendship. I’ll miss him deeply. Rest in peace, Senator Kyl,” Ducey posted.
Former Republican Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., who served in the Senate with Kyl, also paid homage to the late lawmaker.
“Arizona has lost a giant. Jon Kyl was one of the most diligent and effective public servants Arizona has ever had. I was honored to follow him in the U.S. Senate, where his example of seriousness, integrity and devotion to public service was known to all. Cheryl and I send our deepest condolences to Caryll and the entire Kyl family,” Flake posted on X.
Former Arizona Republican Sen. Jon Kyl, left, and Bruce Babbitt, right, former Arizona Republican governor and secretary of the Interior, wave to the crowd as they are recognized during Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s state of the state address Monday, Jan. 14, 2019, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
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