Former Arizona senator with 26 years in Congress steps back from public life due to dementia

PHOENIX — A longtime public servant who represented Arizona from 1987 to the 2010s announced he is retiring from public life.

“I have been diagnosed with a neurological disease manifesting as dementia,” former U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, 83, said in a Tuesday statement.

Although he has been retired from Congress for years, he was still active in public life, serving as an often-cited expert on the U.S. Constitution and serving as a key figure in the Central Arizona Project, ensuring water security throughout the western states.

What is U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona known for?

Kyl served in the U.S. Senate from 1995 to 2013 before retiring. Prior to that, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1987. When he retired, he was the second-highest-ranking Republican senator, according to the Federalist Society.

He then returned to the Senate in September 2018 to succeed the late John McCain, but returned to retirement shortly thereafter.

“My father served in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing a farming district in Iowa where I grew up,” Kyl said.

“So, it was a double honor when the people of Arizona’s Congressional District 4 elected me to represent them in the House. And then, subsequently, for the people of the whole state to entrust me to serve them and the country in the U.S. Senate.”

Jon Kyl previously joined KTAR News 92.3 FM for podcast

Kyl was so influential he made TIME’s 2010 list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

However, he’s remained a part of public life in the years since. In fact, he joined Mike Broomhead’s Amazing Arizonans podcast in January to talk about the current state of U.S. politics.

“My family and I now head down a path filled with moments of joy and increasing difficulties,” Kyl said. “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.”

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