Jon Kyl, an Arizona political giant who served in Congress for nearly 3 decades, has died

Jon Kyl, a giant in Arizona politics who served the state in Congress for nearly three decades, has died, his family announced Thursday. He was 84.

The family said Kyl died due to complications from a neurological disease and released the following statement:

We know that Jon belonged to all of Arizona, a state he loved and explored with vigor, curiosity and wonder. Serving his state and nation in Congress was a privilege and responsibility he honored and respected. We are grateful for his full and meaningful public life.

We are grateful, too, for his full and meaningful family life, guided by his faith and endowed with honor, warmth and love. We cherish his presence in our lives and are thankful he has joined his beloved Creator, Jesus Christ.

Information about memorial services will be announced at a later time.

In December 2025, Kyl announced that he was withdrawing from public life after being diagnosed with a neurological disease that manifested as dementia.

“My family and I now head down a path filled with moments of joy and increasing difficulties. I am grateful beyond expression for their love and support, in these coming days as in all the days of my life,” he said in a statement at the time.

Until then, he remained active in public life, serving as an often-cited expert on the Constitution.

About a year before his diagnosis, he discussed his legacy on the Amazing Arizonans podcast.

“The thing I enjoyed most about my public service, in addition to helping to make good policy for the country, was helping to teach people about our government, why it’s important for them to participate in it,” he said during the Jan. 15, 2025, episode.

Jon Kyl served in U.S. House and Senate

Kyl, a Republican, served in the U.S. House from 1987 to 1995 and the Senate from 1995 to 2013. He returned to the Senate from 2018 to 2019 after then-Gov. Doug Ducey appointed him to fill the late John McCain’s seat.

 

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Between Senate stints, he worked for law firm and lobbyist Covington & Burling, where his clients reportedly included Anheuser-Busch, Georgetown University, the Judicial Crisis Network, Merck, Northrop Grumman, Qualcomm, Raytheon and Walmart.

As a lobbyist, Kyl helped guide the confirmation of Trump-picked U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Kyl developed enough clout in Congress to be named to the Time 100 list of the world’s most influential people in 2010. He reportedly declined overtures to serve as secretary of defense during the first Trump administration in 2019.

Jon Kyl settled in Arizona after arriving for college

Kyl was born in Oakland, Nebraska, on April 25, 1942, and first came to the Grand Canyon State as an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Arizona.

He met his wife, Caryll, while getting his education in Tucson, and she worked as a nurse to help put him through law school.

He completed his law degree in 1966 and moved to Phoenix to practice law and raise a family with two children, Kristine and John.

Jon Kyl was a key player in Arizona’s water policy

Before being elected for his first U.S. House term, Kyl was a key participant in shaping Arizona’s 1980 groundwater code as a lawyer representing a large water utility. The first-of-its-kind code created a regulatory framework for managing groundwater in the drought-stricken state, largely centering on the state’s population centers, including Phoenix and Tucson.

In 2004, Kyl authored legislation that provided one of the largest tribal water rights settlements, which, after a decades-long battle, gave the Gila River Indian Community enough water to fill nearly 313,500 Olympic-sized swimming pools annually. Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who later served as majority leader, called Kyl’s work ethic “legendary” in a 2012 floor speech and said Kyl had labored mostly behind the scenes for 15 years to advance the settlement.

Arizona State University’s Kyl Center for Water Policy takes its name from him. Its director, Sarah Porter, said Kyl was generous with his time and an effective member of the state’s congressional delegation who took a practical approach to water policy.

“He’s always sort of cared about the public good and been able to think about, ‘What will this mean for the generations to come?’” Porter said, adding that Kyl remained “quite a dynamo” until recent years, as his wife battled health problems.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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